Spirit, Body, and Mind
by Naodrith
Summary: Threats to the Digiworld arise quickly, and three new digidestined are quick to help. But is Casia really who she says she is? And can Ken uncover her secrets before the ultimate threat to all worlds decides to take a swing at the Combination lovers?...
1. Find Yourself, Ken!

"Missile Flame!" roared Kimeramon, sending a fire-covered missile at Magnamon.   
"Rosetta Stone!"   
"Star Shower!"   
Nefertimon and Pegasusmon's attacks blew the missile to pieces. Kimeramon glared at   
them. "Fire Blaster!" Both armors dedigivolved into their younger selves. T.K. and Kari   
ran forward, crying out their digimon's names.   
"Gold Rush!"   
"Tempest Wing!"   
Another Fire Blaster smashed into Halsemon and Digmon, reducing them to   
Armadillomon and Hawkmon.   
Miyako raced forward. "No, Hawkmon! Please get up!"   
"Armadillomon!" Iori yelled, following Miyako.   
Daisuke sat up shakily from where he had been thrown by the initial blast. "What--who--  
Magnamon--where am I?"   
"Daisuke, get outta there!" T.K. shouted above a series of attacks.   
Rubbing his head, Daisuke tried to stand up and failed. "Owwwwww...that hurt..."   
"Run, everyone!" Magnamon yelled as Kimeramon's fist collided with his face. "I'll be--  
all right, just go!"   
Miyako nodded sharply and picked up her tired digimon. "Hang in there, Hawkmon."   
Iori followed suit, grabbing Armadillomon. T.K. and Kari did the same with their   
digimon. Daisuke just lay on the floor between the battling monsters, too dazed to move.   
The rest of the digidestined began to follow the newer digidestined.   
Suddenly the telltale light of dedigivolving began to glow around Magnamon. "Looks   
like we lost," he murmured before becoming Veemon.   
Kimeramon laughed evilly. "I agree wholly."   
"WAIT!"   
The digidestined whirled around in complete shock at the sound of a familiar voice.   
"Wormmon!" Kari shrieked, jumping backwards impulsively.   
"I'm going to help you...for Ken."   
"What? Why?" Daisuke asked.   
"For Ken," Wormmon repeated. "Ken needs me. I have to prove I can really battle! Plus,   
the darkness is going to get him. I have to save Ken! I have to make him find himself   
again before it's too late!"   
"Whacked out!" Izzy exclaimed. "I don't believe a sidekick of Ken's could help us! OR   
that Ken could be taken by darkness! He IS the darkness!"   
"You get all sorts these days," Miyako said, eyeing Wormmon warily. Kimeramon   
laughed, a throaty sound.   
"A puny creature like you dares to defy me? MWAHAHAHAHAHA!"   
"Wormmon, get out of there! It's not worth it!" another familiar voice cried. Once again,   
the digidestined whirled, and this time Mimi screamed.   
"KEN!"   
Ken gave a sharp nod and then turned back to Wormmon. "What are you doing, you'll get   
killed, I'm FINE, don't sacrifice yourself for me!"   
"You're my digi-partner, Ken. I have to save you!"   
Tai blinked. "Weeeeeeeeeeeeird..."   
Daisuke stood shakily and stumbled over to the rest of the digidestined as Wormmon   
drew himself as high as a little green worm can.   
Kimeramon laughed and leveled a cannon at Wormmon.   
"NO!"   
Ken tried to run forward, but Tai grabbed his arms. "Ken, let him do what he has to do!   
You won't gain anything by running in there! Believe me, I know!"   
"WORMMON!" Ken shouted as the courageous little worm ducked a Fire Blaster.   
"STOP IT!"   
Wormmon jumped at Kimeramon and bit his leg. The much larger digimon stumbled   
backward. "Use the Dark Digivice, Master!"   
" 'Dark Digivice'?" Daisuke asked. "You have a digivice, Ken?"   
"I invented it way back when I tried to control Greymon!" He looked at the black digivice   
on his belt loop. "But I don't think it will work..."   
"Just try it!"   
Suddenly Kimeramon fell to his knees; somehow Wormmon had managed to effectively   
harm him. The combination digimon managed to send a devastating Missile Flame at the   
smaller digimon before disintegrating.   
"WORMMON!" Ken shouted, breaking out of Tai's grip and running to his fallen   
digimon. "Wormmon, are you all right? Speak to me...God, I'm so sorry..."   
"K-Ken, it's okay. I-I'm just fi-ine..." Wormmon said slowly.   
"Jeez, Wormmon, look at you, you are NOT okay! It's all my fault, I should have used the   
Dark Digivice or something--"   
"Please, Ken, stop trying to t-take over the D-Digital World," Wormmon coughed. "Try   
to f-find yourself again."   
Mimi gasped as she remembered something...   
~~~   
"No...why won't anyone help me?..."   
"Hey there, Mimi."   
"Sora?"   
"Do you know what that awful dream was trying to tell you?"   
"I'm sorry, Sora, I'm so sorry..."   
"You know what you have to do to make things right."   
Mimi nodded, and Sora smiled. "Atta girl, I knew you'd find yourself again!"   
The dreamy atmosphere dissolved into the glowing green of the Crest of Sincerity. "The   
crest!"   
~~~   
"Find yourself Ken...for me..." Wormmon whispered as he dissolved into dust.   
"Wormmon! No! Don't go! Oh, Lord, WORMMON!!!!!" Ken buried his face in his   
hands, not seeing the digidestined. Mimi was crying on Joe's shoulder while he tried not   
to cry himself and make his glasses fog up. Matt had his hand on T.K.'s shoulder and was   
simply staring, open-mouthed, at Ken. T.K., in turn, was attempting to comfort a sobbing   
Kari. Sora had pressed her hands to her mouth. Tai stood behind her, gazing, bewildered,   
at Ken. Izzy had dropped his laptop with a loud clunk and slid to the floor, startled by this   
sudden show of emotion. Daisuke was staring at his 'worthy adversary,' hardly daring to   
believe what he was witnessing, not noticing that Miyako, like most of the girls, was   
crying. And finally, Iori sat on the floor, surrounded by the digimon.   
Eventually Ken stood up and walked over to the digidestined, obviously trying to pretend   
that he didn't care. "It's all yours. The Digiworld. I'm going to give up control right now   
by destroying the dark things I created." He turned and began to walk out the door.   
"Ken. Wait."   
Daisuke stepped slowly forward. "Ken, I think Wormmon was right. You CAN change.   
You can be a digidestined, if you want. I officially accept you onto the DigiTeam."   
Ken smiled slightly. "Yes, I suppose I wasn't the only evil guy around at all." He glanced   
at the place where Wormmon had once been. "I guess--I guess it's what he would have   
wanted me to do. I officially accept your offer to accept me onto the official DigiTeam."   
He paused. "That didn't sound right, did it?"   
Everyone started laughing, except Matt. Ken's just like me, he realized. He's the cold,   
aloof one of the group, asking to be accepted. Just. Like. Me.   
~~~   
"Tai, I'm so sorry. You have no idea how much this friendship means to me..."   
"It's okay, Matt, I do."   
Then a glimmering light surrounded the boys and their digimon, and unheard by anyone   
else, a warm voice whispered, "Yamato, you are once more part of this team. Go now, do   
your part."   
~~~   
"Ken," Matt called over the noise of everyone alternately talking and crying.   
"Yes, Yamato?"   
"Matt. I'm Matt. If you aren't ready to go home yet, you can spend the night at my house.   
Dad would never notice...that's how busy he is with his job."   
The younger boy nodded slowly. "I think...I think I would like that."   
~*~   
Matt tossed a pillow down on top of the sleeping bag that lay on the floor. "Sure you   
don't want to use my bed for tonight, Ken?"   
Ken laughed. "You have no idea how nice it is for you to call me 'Ken' instead of   
'Kaizer.'"   
Matt flipped off the light switch and put on a stern face. "Now, Mr. Ichijouji, if you don't   
go to sleep I'm calling your parents."   
Ken laughed again. Matt closed his door to discourage his father from looking in on him   
and took a running leap into bed. "Good night, Ken, see you in the morning."   
Ten minutes later Matt heard a soft noise from the floor. He raised himself up on his   
elbow and peered down at the floor. "You all right?"   
"Y-Yeah, just fine."   
Matt slid his feet out of bed and knelt beside Ken. "Hey, it's okay to cry."   
"When my parents split up, I vowed that I would never let anyone see me cry. But really,   
all I wanted to do was cry..."   
"You can cry, Matt."   
"Gabumon..."   
"Wormmon...Matt, it's all my fault...if I never wanted to become so powerful, I never   
would have gone to the Digiworld...he would be here with me, saying things like he used   
to say...'Shouldn't you be going home soon, Ken?' 'Master, I'm having a little trouble   
standing...' 'Remember the problems you had with Andromon...' 'Speak to me Master, two   
words, one even,' Jeez, Matt, if I listened to him we would be okay! I was always so   
mean to him..."   
"Hey, man, it's not your fault at all." Absentmindedly Matt began to stroke Ken's hair as   
he had done so often with T.K. in the Digiworld back when everything was so new to   
them all. "You wouldn't know our story, of course, but what you've done is nothing   
compared to me. At the beginning, Tai and I fought over everything. But then,   
somewhere during the Myotismon era, we became friends. Then we lost it all...all   
because I believed a stupid tree. That Cherrymon, he tricked me into believing Tai was   
my rival and that I had to kill him. Gabumon...Gabumon promised he would stay with me   
no matter what. So he warp-digivolved and we tried to kill Tai. Kari saved us, luckily, but   
I left, and because of me, Mimi and Joe left the group, too. I was trying to find myself,   
just like you are, but I nearly lost because of the darkness."   
In the darkness of Matt's room, Ken nodded. "So then what happened to you? After the   
darkness tried to get to you?"   
"Gabumon saved me. I had to learn to cry, just like you did. I was eleven then, your age. I   
understand more than you could ever believe."   
"Your digimon isn't dead."   
"Yeah, well, last I heard, a whole bunch of innocent and not-so-innocent digimon died   
because of me. Pumpkinmon, Gotsumon, VenomMyotismon, Puppetmon, Piedmon,   
Apocalymon, Cherrymon, and a lot of others, too."   
"You didn't use Dark Rings to take over innocent digimon. You didn't sic old friends on   
your enemies to make them not fight. You didn't instruct a Gardromon to trap Kari in the   
Digiworld. You didn't--"   
"Enough already with the guilt trip. It wasn't your fault." Matt gently stroked Ken's head.   
"We're here for you, and don't you ever forget that."   
"Thanks, Matt," Ken said softly. Matt was shocked to realize how much Ken sounded   
like T.K. at that moment.   
Matt climbed back into bed, but he didn't sleep. He laid there, staring up at the ceiling.   
Ken might be a genius, but he's still just a kid, Matt reminded himself. He still needs   
guidance at times.   
Then Matt did something he hadn't done for over a year. He softly walked over to his   
dresser and took out his precious harmonica. Raising it to his lips, he began to play. The   
soulful sound echoed through his small bedroom, its notes spilling off the walls. The   
music was practically tangible as it floated through the air.   
Ken stirred a little and opened his smoky blue eyes. Matt immediately stopped playing.   
"Gomen nasai, Ken. I didn't mean to wake you."   
"Sorry? Sorry for what? That's beautiful."   
Matt grinned. "Arigatou, Ken-chan." Matt put the harmonica down and fell asleep.   
~*~   
The next morning dawned clear and sunny. Matt yawned and stood up. "Hey, Ken, if we   
disguised you, you could probably come to school with me. Do some high school math   
problems, you know. Math...such fun." Matt made a face.   
Ken blinked. "You don't like math?"   
Matt grimaced and shook his head. "Forget it, man. You can wear my old clothes and   
pretend to be my cousin. And do something about that hair!"   
Ken sighed. "Sheesh, and I thought something just a little more interesting than school   
would happen on my first day back. Something like...I dunno...trying to take over Odaiba   
with a Control Spire, maybe..."   
Shaking his head, Matt laughed. "Sarcasm, kid. You're learning from the master." He   
walked to his closet and searched through his clothes, eventually throwing some faded   
jeans and a black T-shirt at Ken. "Dad's probably at work, now. You go get ready, and I'll   
make breakfast."   
While he flipped a pancake over in the pan, an irrelevant thought surfaced. ~How does   
Ken do it? Act like nothing's wrong? If MY digimon were dead I wouldn't be making   
jokes. Actually, that's not right, is it? Never mind...~ "Hey, Ken, you ready yet?"   
Ken appeared in the doorway and Matt's jaw dropped. The eleven-year-old didn't look   
like himself anymore; he had borrowed a pair of tennis shoes that made him an inch   
taller. The jeans and T-shirt were nothing compared to his hair, which was combed back   
under a hat so it didn't look so long. He had sunglasses on so that no one could see his   
eyes.   
"Wow, Ken, you're GOOD!" Matt cried.   
Ken sighed. "This is SO weird. For lack of a better word, this is SO weird!"   
~*~   
At school no one paid much attention to Matt's "cousin" except his friends in the band,   
who didn't notice, the teachers, and an occasional person who looked like they had   
figured it out, but really hadn't.   
Finally the last bell rang. Matt shoved his English book into his backpack. "Where to   
now, Ken?"   
"Your house, I have to get out of these clothes, no offense," Ken said.   
Twenty minutes later Ken, back in his normal clothes, appeared in Matt's kitchen. "When   
will your dad get back?"   
Matt slowly shook his head. "Dad just called. He's coming home now because he works   
better here, and he has a report to finish." Matt was silent for a minute and then said   
quietly, "It's time for you to go home now, Ken."   
Ken's eyes widened. "Home? After all I've DONE? No way!"   
"Ken, you HAVE to go home sooner or later, sooner rather than later."   
"Yeah, but..."   
Matt grabbed a light jacket. "Come on, Ken, let's go." Ken silently followed his friend.   
~After all I've done, I can't go home. Why was I so darn stupid?!~   
~*~   
Ken was trembling slightly by the time they reached his apartment building. He and Matt   
ducked into the shadows.   
"I can't do this, Matt, I can't! What'll I tell my parents?"   
"You have to, Ken. You have to. I'll go first, if you want, tell 'em you're here."   
Ken shook his head. "Nah, that's okay. I'll go with you. Looks like there's no police here   
right now."   
Matt gave a sharp nod, and the two started forward. Ken reached out to touch the   
doorknob. "It's been a long time..."   
"Hey, dude, it's your apartment building. Go in."   
But Ken didn't have to. Obviously his parents had seen him coming, because the door   
opened, startling Ken into jumping back. Then he threw himself forward. "Mom! Dad!   
I'm so sorry!"   
Neither Matt nor Ken noticed the rather short redhead leaning against a building opposite   
them. The boy smiled and closed his eyes...   
~~~   
"Mom...Dad!"   
And somewhere close by, "It's times like this I wish I had a Digi-mommy!"   
~~~   
Tentomon never knew that Izzy knew he had been watching...but Izzy did know. The boy   
turned and walked away.  
~I think Ken finally found himself...~  
~I think Ken finally found himself...~  



	2. The New Evil

"What's our next move?" Daisuke asked. The new digidestined were sitting on chairs in the computer room, watching as Ken, in the Digiworld, destroyed Control Spires. 

Miyako replied, "Well, since we have nothing better to do, let's go help Ken." She sighed. "Do you realize that technically, since he isn't our enemy anymore, it's okay for me to date him?" 

Iori shook his head. "It never fails..." 

Kari looked down at Gatomon. "All right then, it's settled. Digi-Port, open!" 

Moments later they all appeared in the Digiworld. T.K. looked around. "No Control Spire here! Let's all digivolve and go find Ken!" 

"Digi-Armor Energize!" 

"Veemon, armor-digivolve to...Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage!" 

"Hawkmon, armor-digivolve to...Halsemon! the Wings of Love!" 

"Armadillomon, armor-digivolve to...Digmon! The Drill of Power!" 

"Patamon, digivolve to...Angemon!" 

"Gatomon, digivolve to...Angewomon!" 

Daisuke didn't look very happy. 

"I've got a message on my digivice!" T.K. called a minute later when they were airborne. "It says, 'Only a few more Control Spires remain. Come to my main tower--take a left at the Sphinx.' The Sphinx? Oh yeah, the SPHINX! I remember that!" 

~~~ 

"Open it up, it's probably just Spam!" 

~~~ 

"Come on, Sora, you know if it was anyone else's crest you'd be all for it!" 

~~~ 

"Pain still hurts, Tai!" 

~~~ 

"I--can't move--" 

~~~ 

"Sora--it's all my fault!" 

~~~ 

"T.K., you wait here!" 

"Right!" 

~~~ 

"Angemon, that way!" T.K. shouted, pointing. "Look, that's the upside-down pyramid--and the Sphinx right behind it! Sure hope we don't run into Etemon!" 

"Ete-who?" everyone except T.K., Angemon, and Gatomon asked. 

"Look to the left!" Kari called out. "There's the main tower!" 

They landed in front of it and dedigivolved. Ken walked out. 

"Ken, you look...different," Daisuke said. "Your hair isn't all spiky anymore..." 

Ken nodded, his somewhat long hair very obvious in their surroundings. "Don't even attempt to ask why. I just came here, and I wasn't the Digimon Kaizer anymore." 

"I'm glad!" Miyako said, sighing. "He's such a dreamboat..." 

"Come on in," Ken said, leading them into the Spire. "This is the last one, but I don't think we'll destroy it. Could come in handy, ya never know." 

Everyone nodded. "Hey," Ken said suddenly, "I guess there isn't anything more we can do, is there?" 

"Nope," Iori said. 

"That's all about to change," a hissing voice said in Kari's ear. She shrieked, causing everyone else to look at her and see the new digimon. 

It looked like a long metal snake with wings, and it had quietly (no one knew how he could have been so silent) knocked down a wall and crept up behind them. "I am MetalCobramon, and you, you are the digi-DOOMED!" 

"MetalCobramon!" Ken cried, running forward. "Hey, it's me! What are you doing?" 

"You have no control over me anymore, Kaizer!" MetalCobramon shouted. "But now, I introduce to you my dear friend and accomplice, the Dark Digimon Alizamon!" 

What looked like a human girl walked easily into the room. She had long, dark red hair and glinting eyes of brown. She wore emerald green clothing. "Yes, I am Alizamon. I am not human, however. It was quite a mistake to join the good side again, Ken." 

"Alizamon..." Ken whispered. "Alizamon, come on! We were FRIENDS, remember?" 

"Friends? What friends? I remember only that YOU tried to trick me into doing one of your insane experiments! And now that the Control Spire in my area has been destroyed, I'm going to destroy YOU and your digidestined friends! You have found a new enemy in the Chingomon, Ken!" 

A data screen popped up, and Izzy's voice said, "The Chingomon are a race of human-like digimon, all with different names. Some do not have the 'mon,' but all are equally dangerous! Be careful, it's easy to confuse Chingomon with humans!" 

"Uh-oh," T.K. said. 

"MetalCobramon, ATTACK!" 

MetalCobramon dove for the digidestined and narrowly missed. Meanwhile, Alizamon had jumped Miyako and placed one thin hand over the girl's mouth. "You're coming with me!" the digimon hissed, spreading red wings and taking to the air. 

"MIYAKO!" everyone shouted. Ken clenched his fists and leapt onto MetalCobramon's back. 

"I'm going after her!" he shouted as MetalCobramon, unaware of his passenger, headed after Alizamon. "Go get reinforcements!" 

"KEN!" the others shouted. 

"Great, just great," Daisuke said. "We finally get him on OUR side, and that messes everything up!" 

~*~ 

"Help me! Somebody help me!" Miyako cried, struggling with all her might against Alizamon. Several strong-looking men had appeared, all of them Chingomon, and were attempting to restrain her. "Hawkmon! Daisuke! Ken! Anybody! Please!" 

"Miyako!" someone called. The Chingomon turned around, giving Miyako the chance she needed. She kicked backwards, hitting Alizamon in the shin and freeing herself. She raced forward, only to be caught by an adult male. 

"Antonymon always do what Master Alizamon want!" the Chingomon said. "Antonymon catch girl!" 

"Ken!" Miyako screamed as Antonymon dragged her away. "KEN!" 

"Miyako!" he shouted, diving backwards to avoid the Chingomon. "I'll rescue you! Just let me get out of this situation first!" 

~*~ 

Mimi read the email quickly. 

Dear Mimi,  
We have a new enemy. Her name is Alizamon, and she's a human-like digimon, a Chingomon. Come to the computer room right away! Miyako's been captured, and maybe Ken, too!  
From: Kari 

Mimi stood up abruptly, startling many of the people in the library. "Good thing I'm not going back to New York yet!" she said as she grabbed her backpack and ran. 

By the time she reached the computer room, everyone was there, except Miyako and Ken. Just as Iori held out his digivice, the computer began to glow and Ken tumbled into the room. 

"That--hurt," he said, attempting to get his breath back. "I couldn't get Miyako--some big Chingomon guy grabbed her, and I had to run for my life. This seemed like the safest place right now." 

"You want to stay behind while we go get Miyako?" Kari asked sympathetically. 

"Actually, that's a great idea," Izzy said. "Ken can stay here and look for problems while we save Miyako!" 

"Digi-Port, open!" Iori yelled. The ten digidestined were yanked into it. 

"Good luck, guys!" Ken said softly. 

~*~ 

"Any sign of Miyako?" Tai asked. 

"Not yet," Greymon replied. All the digimon had digivolved so that looking would be easier, and Hawkmon rode with Iori on Digmon. "Anything, Garurumon?" 

"No. Anything, Birdramon?" 

"Cut it out," Sora laughed. "It's obvious no one knows anything yet." 

"Wait!" Nefertimon cried. "I see something--over there!" 

"It looks like a castle--a black one," T.K. said grimly. "Angle toward it, guys! I bet that's where Miyako is!" 

Alizamon glared up at the figures in the sky, then looked down at the creatures on the ground. "Those little pests are after the girl," she hissed. "Well, let's see how they like the dungeons! MetalCobramon! DarkTyrannomon! Catch them!" She looked back at the eleven other creatures. "As for you, find me DarkStingmon, and then attack! No, wait...EvilAngemon, attack NOW! You follow me, NightHalsemon and BlackGarurumon." She laughed cruelly. "Let's see how you like this, digidestined!" 

Down in the dungeons, Miyako hugged her knees to her chest and cried. "What if I got Ken caught, what if--" 

"Your friend escape," Antonymon, the guard, said. "He go far away, to place call 'Odaiba.'" 

"Ken got home!" Miyako cried out. "They're all safe!" 

Someone laughed. "Guess again, little girl. You are going to attack them for me, my sweet, and once the Dark Spirals I stole from Kaizer are in place, you and that Yamato kid will destroy your friends FOR me!" 

Miyako shrank back, but Alizamon let the Dark Spiral fly. It latched onto the girl's arm. 

"Now, Miyako, take NightHalsemon and BlackGarurumon! Attach this Spiral to Yamato!" 

Miyako nodded and took the Spiral. Then she clambered onto NightHalsemon's back and took off. 

~*~ 

"Miyako!" Matt called. "I see her, but--she looks like she's riding on Halsemon! That just can't be possible!" 

Miyako, NightHalsemon, and BlackGarurumon landed. Before anyone could do or say anything, Miyako let the Dark Spiral fly. It attached itself to Matt's leg. 

"Matt! What's up?" Garurumon asked as Matt jumped off. 

"The evil digidestined digimon!" Flamedramon shouted. "NightHalsemon and BlackGarurumon! The others are coming--EvilAngemon, VirusGreymon, RavenBirdramon, DeathAngewomon, SpikeKabuterimon, IceIkkakumon, SteelFlamedramon, ThornTogemon, BladeDigmon, and DarkStingmon! Stingmon is Wormmon's digivolved form!" 

"This is bad!" Ikkakumon cried. "Without Stingmon and Halsemon, the good ones, we're totally outnumbered, even though we have two extra armor digimon! Attack with all you've got while we have the chance! Harpoon Torpedo!" 

"Howling Blaster!" 

"Hawk Charge!" 

"Nova Blast!" 

"Needle Spray!" 

"Star Shower!" 

"Meteor Wing!" 

"Rosetta Stone!" 

"Gold Rush!" 

"Fire Rocket!" 

"Electro Shocker!" 

"Night Tempest Wing!" 

"Black Howling Blaster!" 

Several digimon fell at these attacks, but when EvilAngemon arrived, it was over. One Evil Hand of Fate, and they were down--for good. Two Dark Spirals made Nefertimon and Pegasusmon use their Golden Noose to "round up" the kids and transport them to the castle, where each digidestined was tossed into their own cell--without their digimon. The Dark Spirals fell off, luckily. 

Kari quickly typed up a message to Ken: We've been captured by the evil digidestined digimon. Hurry! 

~*~ 

Ken quickly read the email on the screen and hit the table with his fist. "No one can mess with MY friends! Evil digimon or no evil digimon, I'm going to save them!"


	3. Casia

Miyako sobbed into her knees. "It's all--my--fault," she whispered. "It's all my fault!" 

"Don't think like that," Joe said softly. "It wasn't your fault at all. Alizamon did it, and now we know she has Dark Spirals." 

"Um, guys?" Kari said shakily. "We have a problem. Listen: 'I'm coming to rescue you. Try using the digivices to get out. I'll be there soon.' Ken's coming! If he gets caught, we're doomed!" 

"Use the digivices," Tai said slowly. "What did Ken mean by that?" 

"Let's try it. Hold out your digivices," Izzy ordered. Everyone complied. Suddenly the digivices began to glow. Eleven beams of light shot out, knocking Antonymon backwards and the keys to the floor. The light grabbed the keys and brought them to T.K., who quickly freed himself and then the others. 

"Where's Antonymon?" Daisuke asked. The Chingomon had vanished. 

"Gone to tell Alizamon," Iori said. "We have to hurry! Let's find our digimon!" 

Agumon's voice floated down the passageway. "Tai, over here!" 

All the digimon were in a small room of the dungeon. Tai unlocked the cage. "Let's go, guys." The sounds of battle were already reaching their ears. 

"Evil Hand of Fate!" 

The digidestined and their digimon sprinted up a spiral staircase and into the front room...where they found total chaos. 

One wall was completely smashed down. The evil digidestined digimon were shooting their attacks all over the place. Ken was jumping out of the way and firing some sort of dark beam from his digivice. He sighed in relief when he saw his comrades. "Finally!" 

"Night Tempest Wing!" 

"Black Howling Blaster!" 

"Evil Hand of Fate!" 

"Virus Nova Blast!" 

"Raven Meteor Wing!" 

"Death Celestial Arrow!" 

"Spike Electro Shocker!" 

"Ice Harpoon Torpedo!" 

"Steel Fire Rocket!" 

"Thorn Needle Spray!" 

"Blade Rock Cracking!" 

Alizamon grinned as a cerulean ball of energy formed in her hands. "Alizamon Beam!" 

"That's how all Chingomon attack!" Tentomon called. "Their name, and some sort of attack word! We have to digivolve!" 

"Agumon, digivolve to...Greymon! Nova Blast!" 

"Biyomon, digivolve to...Birdramon! Meteor Wing!" 

"Gabumon, digivolve to...Garurumon! Howling Blaster!" 

"Gomamon, digivolve to...Ikkakumon! Harpoon Torpedo!" 

"Tentomon, digivolve to...Kabuterimon! Electro Shocker!" 

"Palmon, digivolve to...Togemon! Needle Spray!" 

"Patamon, digivolve to...Angemon! Hand of Fate!" 

"Gatomon, digivolve to...Angewomon! Celestial Arrow!" 

Three voices shouted, "Digi-Armor Energize!" 

"Hawkmon, armor-digivolve to...Halsemon! The Wings of Love! Tempest Wing!" 

"Veemon, armor-digivolve to...Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage! Fire Rocket!" 

"Armadillomon, armor-digivolve to...Digmon! The Drill of Power! Gold Rush!" 

The evil digidestined digimon were knocked back by their good alternates--all except for EvilAngemon. 

"Ken, attack!" Miyako cried. Ken nodded and held up his digivice, but suddenly his mouth dropped open and the digivice fell to the ground. The other children turned to see... 

...DarkStingmon. 

Ken instantly knew this had to be Wormmons's evil digivolved form. "Wormmon," he whispered. That one second of shock allowed EvilAngemon the chance to aim his fist at Matt... 

"Evil Hand of Fate!" 

"MATT!" Ken shouted. Matt was separated from the rest, having followed Garurumon...Ken started to run, but he would never make it...he threw himself in front of Matt just before the beam hit. Both were thrown backward into the wall. Garurumon took out EvilAngemon immediately, and the others beat DarkStingmon into submission. 

"Oh, God..." Sora whispered. Matt had been knocked slightly sideways and was already sitting up, but Ken...Ken wasn't moving...his crumpled body was covered in blood, and there was a nasty gash on the back of his head...  
Dead... 

Ken, dead...blood... 

One of the digidestined, dead... 

Dead... 

"KEN!" Miyako screamed. "Somebody do something!" 

Joe was shaking. "Oh my God, there's no way ANYONE could survive THAT." 

Alizamon stepped from the shadows. "Dear little digidestined...how unfortunate that you escaped. But I still have need of you...or, at least, one of you." She pointed at Ken. 

"Ken's dead!" Tai shouted fiercely. "You killed him!" 

~But that's not right,~ Mimi thought, watching Ken. ~I can still see his chest moving. Alive...~ 

Before Mimi could cry out, tell the others, a panel in the floor opened and Ken fell. Gone again, just as there was a little ray of hope... 

"KEN!" everyone shouted. Alizamon waved sarcastically at them. 

"Have a nice day." She vanished. 

"Ken, no!" Matt cried. "It's all my fault, he was only trying to save me!" 

"In a way, it's my fault, because Angemon's counterpart did it," T.K. said softly. 

"I started this whole thing!" Miyako wailed. 

"It's no one's fault!" Kari said. "Let's go. We have to plan how to save him." 

~*~ 

Hours later, Ken slowly opened his eyes and tried to sit up. But he couldn't sit up. Something was pinning him down...chains. He was chained down in some dark dungeon. 

"Awake at last," a voice said. A female voice, the speaker hidden in the shadows. 

"K-Kari?" Ken whispered. His head was throbbing...he hardly dared to believe... 

"Not Kari. Me." A girl stepped out of the shadows. She was beautiful, with long, dark hair twisting in a braid to her waist. Her dark eyes bored into Ken. Her black robes swished on the floor as she walked up to him. 

"Are you a--a Chingomon?" Ken asked. 

The girl shook her head. "I am human, like you." 

"You're not going to save me, are you?" 

The girl shook her head again and leaned closer. "Allow me to introduce myself, Ken Ichijouji. My name is Casia." 

"How did you get to Digiworld?" 

"It all started three weeks ago..." 

~~~ 

"Casia, are you done with your homework yet? Casia? Acacia Kaminara, are you listening to me?" 

Casia took off her headphones. "Yeah. Almost done, Mom!" She turned to her computer and sighed. "Almost meaning one down, forty-nine to go!" 

The screen began to glow, and an evil female voice spoke. "Come to me, Acacia Erika Kaminara. Help me win the Digital World!" 

"Digi-what?" the girl asked before she was pulled into the computer. 

~~~ 

"Casia, you've been here for three weeks?" 

She grinned. "Yup. And now, Ken-chan, you are practically dead already." Casia reached up to touch something on her shoulder. "You see, this is Chieko, and she's poisonous." The snake wound around her neck lovingly. "One bite from Chieko, you're dead. Just give up, Ken Ichijouji, you can't win. Chieko, attack!" 

"Casia!" was all Ken had time to say before Chieko lashed out and bit his wrist...


	4. Fight for Freedom

"Hello, Mrs. Ichijouji? Actually, I'm calling about Ken...yeah, he's staying at my house tonight...yeah, fine, whatever..." T.K. hung up the phone and turned to the other digidestined. "That's over with, thank goodness. She believes us." 

Sora shook her head. "Wonder what Ken's doing right now..." Suddenly her digivice beeped and an unfamiliar female voice came out of it. 

"Ken, how does this thing work? Ken? Chieko, make Ken talk to me." 

"GAH! Okay, okay, don't threaten me anymore, Casia..." 

Casia sighed. "Fine, Ken-chan. Now show me how this thing works. Why's the little red button flashing? Did I hurt it?" 

"Nooooooo, you turned it on. Gimme that!" 

She laughed. "Why? Your arms are tied down." 

"GUYS! Guys, I'm all right...I think she was lying about that snake being poisono--YAH! Get away from me! HELP!" 

The last thing they heard before the connection stopped was Casia saying, "Ke-en, does this button turn it off? Never mind...I don't care if it does or not..." 

Kari looked up at Tai. "We have a big problem here, don't we?" 

Tai exhaled. "Whoo boy, this is way more than we thought it was. Ken's trapped with some insane Chingomon named Casia, and there's a poisonous snake..." 

Patamon sighed. "We have to go back to the Digiworld tonight. We have to fight those evil copies to save Ken!" 

"If he isn't dead already," Joe muttered. 

"Don't say that!" Mimi cried. She gazed down at her hands. "Although, come to think of it, it's probably true..." 

Sora stood up, yawning. "Well, I know Tai, Matt, and I can't go. Our history exam is tomorrow." 

"I'm going," Matt said. "I don't care about American presidents. I care about our friends, not some dead guys in another country. Tai, you coming?" 

Tai shook his head. "I didn't bother studying in study hall, and I really need it. You can just count the two of us out." 

Mimi nodded as well. "Even if I'm in Japan and go to school in America, I still need to study. I go home in a week, and I arrive at seven A.M. the day of a big math test." 

"I'm with you, Matt," Izzy said. "I care more about my friends. No tests for me! Besides, I started studying a week ago for the test tomorrow." 

"Count me in," Joe said. 

Kari shook her head. "I know Daisuke and I can't come. We're partners on a BIG project that's due tomorrow. T.K.'s free, he turned his in already." T.K. nodded. 

"Mom would kill me if I was out that late," Iori said. 

"I'm in," Miyako said. 

Izzy nodded. "So that settles it. Matt, Joe, T.K., Miyako, and I will go to the Digiworld tonight to fight for Ken!" 

~*~ 

Late that night, Joe slipped into the computer room and shut the door. "Are we all here?" 

"We're waiting on Miyako," T.K. said. Just then, the girl flew into the room. 

"Sorry--my sister was up, studying--had to sneak out--" She glanced around. "Hey, I'm the only girl here!" 

Izzy nodded. "All right. Miyako, T.K., open the gate!" 

"Digi-Port, open!" 

The five landed in Digiworld a little later, right in front of the castle. It wasn't guarded. "Guess they think we won't come at night..." Matt whispered. "Let's head in." 

"Wait, where are our digimon?" Izzy asked. Only Patamon and Hawkmon were there. 

"No time, Izzy, come on!" Joe said. He tiptoed quietly to the door and inspected the lock. "Easy to pick, all I need is a piece of wire or something--" 

"Done," Matt said. "I figured we would have to break in--or out." He held out a crooked piece of wire. Joe took it and picked the lock. 

No one was in the front room, which had been magically rebuilt. Suddenly they heard loud voices. 

"Casia, what did I tell you? You can't use Chieko on captives! Now that Ken kid is poisoned and no good to us!" 

"Oh, Alizamon, you're no fun!" 

"And YOU are a puny human! Go now, be gone!" 

A girl clothed in black stormed through a door and stopped short when she saw the five children. "You kids looking for Ken?" 

Matt bravely stepped forward and nodded. Casia continued, "Good. You heard HER, he's no use to us anyway. Chieko here poisoned him." Casia stroked the snake. "She thinks she's SO good. Alizamon, that is. Come on, I'll lead you to him." 

Hardly daring to believe their luck, the digidestined followed her. T.K. hung back and whispered to his brother, "She's so creepy, wearing black and carrying that snake everywhere!" 

Casia grabbed a candle off a table and lit it so that the kids could see in the dark underground room. Ken was bound to a larger table and looked ashen. His eyes were closed. 

"I'll get the key," Casia said softly as Matt, Miyako, and T.K. ran forward, followed by Joe and Izzy. 

"Ken! Speak to me!" Miyako begged. "Please!" 

"Kudasai, Ken!" Matt said. "Get up!" 

"He won't, you know." 

The digidestined whirled to see a man standing in the shadows. The man held Chieko in his arms. "This little snake poisoned him. He's basically dead already; there's no antidote. I should know, I breed snakes here in the Digital World. I am a Chingomon, Rob. No 'mon' at the end. This snake and many others were bred from three human snakes that slid through. Seadramon was one. MetalCobramon is one. Even Wormmon was bred by me. You never see the non-digimon ones because they're locked up. She--" Meaning Casia-- "received Chieko as her digimon when she appeared in this world. She wouldn't give up this little one for the world." 

"Wow," Izzy said. "So Chieko is kinda like Casia's digimon?" 

"Yes." 

"And if she's got a digimon, she's a digidestined!" T.K. said. 

"Not exactly. Casia is a DarkDestined. There are five DarkDestined, but she is the only one here since she was summoned by Alizamon. Your journey will never be over until you defeat the DarkDestined." 

"But Casia is so nice!" 

Rob nodded. "Yes, Casia is a kind girl at heart. If only she wasn't a DarkDestined..." 

"Dark what?" 

Casia was coming down the stairs. Rob mouthed, "She doesn't know what she is!" and disappeared into the shadows. 

The small girl unlocked the chains and pointed at the stairs. "Take Ken-chan and go!" she whispered. "Hurry!" 

The digidestined ran up the stairs, Joe carrying the unconscious Ken. Suddenly EvilAngemon appeared at the top. The malicious seraph raised his staff, ready to bring it crashing down on their heads... 

"Chieko! Go attack, now!" The poison green snake slithered past them and bit EvilAngemon's ankle. Unfortunately, the noise brought Alizamon running. Her first impression was this--the door to the dungeons was flung wide open. EvilAngemon was lying in the doorway, moaning, with Chieko clinging to his ankle for all she was worth. Five of those annoying pests, the digidestined, were gazing, open-mouthed, at her, one holding her captive. Behind them stood Casia, her former servant. 

"WHAT?!" 

"Give it all you've got!" Casia shouted. "Alizamon, I'm fighting with the digidestined now!" 

"You can't," Rob's throaty voice said from behind her. "You, Casia, are a DarkDestined. You are destined to fight against them, not with them." 

"W--What?" the girl asked. "That can't be!" 

T.K. and Miyako looked at each other, then at their digimon. "Digi-Armor Energize!" 

"Patamon, armor-digivolve to...Pegasusmon! Flying Hope! Star Shower!" 

"Hawkmon, armor-digivolve to...Halsemon! The Wings of Love! Tempest Wing!" 

Alizamon flew out of the way just in time and called for the other evil digidestined digimon. For the next few minutes no one could tell what was happening. Eventually, only IceIkkakumon, BlackGarurumon, VirusGreymon, NightHalsemon, and DeathAngewomon were left standing. DarkStingmon hadn't ever shown up, and Alizamon had left to go find him and set him on the digidestined. 

Chieko dove forward suddenly and bit DeathAngewomon, who instantly slid to the floor. Halsemon simultaneously shot a Tempest Wing at her evil self, who also was knocked out. Pegasusmon's following Star Shower took out IceIkkakumon and VirusGreymon. BlackGarurumon snarled and braced himself. 

Ken stirred slightly and opened his eyes. "What...what happened?" 

"Ken! You're awake! How do you feel?" Joe asked anxiously. 

"I ache all over...and..." Suddenly his eyes went wide. "Oh no, not again..." 

DarkStingmon had arrived. 

He and BlackGarurumon attacked at the same time, combining their attack into a shining black and purple ball that flew straight at them... 

Casia knocked them out of the way just in time and took the full explosion, knowing it wouldn't hurt her nearly as much. She was thrown backwards, into a wall, where she slid limply to the floor. 

Chieko had had enough. She darted forward and bit BlackGarurumon at the same time the armor digimon attacked DarkStingmon. Both cried out and ran away. The digidestined, who had been sent sprawling, automatically looked at Casia... 

...and saw that she was already gone. 

"Someone, probably Rob, took her away," Izzy said. "And I doubt she's in very good shape." 

Joe picked up Ken again. "Let's get Ken home for now and worry about Casia later. She IS a DarkDestined, remember." 

~*~ 

Ken tried to open his eyes, but couldn't. Instead he concentrated his efforts on everything else. 

Someone was stroking his head. ~Matt?~ he thought. No, the hands were too small...someone else...maybe T.K.? 

Finally Ken managed to open his eyes. Kari jumped, startled, but then sighed in relief. "Ken's awake," she called to the other digidestined, who were gathered around his computer. 

"Hey, Ken," Tai said, immediately coming over. "How do you feel?" 

"My first impression is that I feel like a stone statue," Ken said slowly. "Where did Casia go? And DarkStingmon?" 

"DarkStingmon ran away," T.K. said from near the computer. "And Casia...well, you can see for yourself. Izzy hacked into your database and figured out how to keep an eye on her." 

The screen of Ken's computer showed a black-and-white image of the small girl, unconscious, in the dungeons. Rob or someone had covered her with a blanket, but she was shivering. 

"Where am I?" Ken asked after a moment. 

"At your house," Miyako said. "Your dad had to go on a business trip, and your mom's with him. They saw me just as they were leaving for the airport and told me to remind you to be good while they were gone. I ran back to T.K.'s house, where you were at the time, and told them. So we moved you in here. Joe said if you woke up you would probably be fine, so I guess we can assume you'll live." 

"Good," Ken said. "Have you been back to the Digiworld since you saved me?" 

Mimi shook her head. "We didn't dare leave. As soon as you feel up to it, we're heading out there to defeat Alizamon." 

Ken also shook his head. "It's hopeless, don't you see? They have the evil version of Stingmon; we don't. They have Dark Spirals; mine are destroyed. It's useless to fight unless we have a plan." 

"A plan..." Matt said slowly. "Wait a minute! We could get Wormmon back!" 

"How?" nearly everyone asked. 

T.K. answered. "Primary Village! We go there, get Elecmon to help us find Wormmon's DigiEgg, and rub it till it hatches!" 

"Good idea!" Daisuke said. "Simple, and fool-proof!" 

Sora nodded. "But we don't know where Primary Village is. And besides that, we would only have him in his baby form, which can't battle!" 

"This is where we stop Alizamon once and for all!" Matt said suddenly. "She's already captured us, hurt Ken, and nearly killed Casia. I say we digivolve into ultimates--except you and me, Tai. We're going mega!" 

"How?" Tai asked. "What about our crests?" 

"Don't you remember Apocalymon? We don't need our crests to digivolve anymore!" 

Tai nodded slowly. "I remember...then let's go to the Digiworld!" 

"I'm coming too," Ken said. "You guys need me. I can stay in the main control room and destroy the Spirals from there while you attack!" 

Joe smiled. "Then it's settled, I guess. We're the DigiTeam!" 

"And we're going to win!" Iori said happily. "Let's go!" 

~*~ 

"Agumon, warp-digivolve to...WarGreymon!" 

"Gabumon, warp-digivolve to...MetalGarurumon!" 

"Palmon, digivolve to...Togemon! Togemon, digivolve to...Lillymon!" 

"Gomamon, digivolve to...Ikkakumon! Ikkakumon, digivolve to...Zudomon!" 

"Tentomon, digivolve to...Kabuterimon! Kabuterimon, digivolve to...MegaKabuterimon!" 

"Biyomon, digivolve to...Birdramon! Birdramon, digivolve to...Garudamon!" 

"It worked!" Tai shouted. 

"Digi-Armor Energize!" 

"Veemon, armor-digivolve to...Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage!" 

"Hawkmon, armor-digivolve to...Halsemon! The Wings of Love!" 

"Armadillomon, armor-digivolve to...Digmon! The Drill of Power!" 

"Gatomon, armor-digivolve to...Nefertimon! The Angel of Light!" 

"Patamon, armor-digivolve to...Pegasusmon! Flying Hope!" 

Ken climbed onto MetalGarurumon's back. Somehow he had wheedled his way into coming along for the battle, although not even Izzy knew exactly how... 

Alizamon watched the digidestined come toward her castle. She whirled around to Antonymon and held up a Dark Spiral. 

"Go attach this to Casia!" 

"ARE WE THERE YET?!" Mimi shouted. 

"SEE FOR YOURSELF!" Joe called back. 

Finally they landed outside the castle, where they were immediately attacked by VirusGreymon, BlackGarurumon, RavenBirdramon, ThornTogemon, IceIkkakumon, and SpikeKabuterimon. Their further-digivolved selves quickly sent them running or flying away. 

"Guess they can't take the heat!" WarGreymon roared. Tai laughed, but suddenly stopped. 

"Here come DeathAngewomon and BladeDigmon!" he yelled. "And behind them SteelFlamedramon and NightHalsemon!" 

"Why are EvilAngemon and DarkStingmon always the last ones to show?" Sora asked. 

"Rosetta Stone!" 

"Gold Rush!" 

"Flaming Fist!" 

"Tempest Wing!" 

DeathAngewomon was instantly defeated, and Halsemon hit her other personality hard. SteelFlamedramon and BladeDigmon sent their own attacks out, however. 

"Blade Gold Rush!" 

"Steel Fire Rocket!" 

Pegasusmon and Nerfertimon looped a Golden Noose around SteelFlamedramon and then used their own attacks on him. Meanwhile, the ultimates and megas took on BladeDigmon. 

"Flower Cannon!" 

"Horn Buster!" 

"Vulcan's Hammer!" 

"Wing Blade!" 

"Terra Force!" 

"Ice Wolf Claw!" 

The attacks completely deleted BladeDigmon, but SteelFlamedramon freed himself and sprinted away. "One down, eleven to go," Kari said grimly. 

The digidestined jumped down from their digimon and watched as eleven attacks destroyed part of the castle. Several Chingomon rushed out, including Antonymon, and began to assault the intruding digimon. None of them noticed the twelve children slipping into the castle. 

"The dungeons are this way," Ken whispered, leading them toward the stairs. 

Joe sighed. "I STILL don't think we should be saving Casia. She IS a DarkDestined, remember." 

"After how she's helped us?" Mimi asked. "It would be rude to leave her in there when we blow up the castle later!" 

The rest of the digidestined nodded and started down the stairs, Ken in the lead. Suddenly the boy knelt and touched something. "My God," he whispered, "look at this!" 

It was Chieko, and she looked awful. Her poison green scales were dull, and her beady black eyes were closed. 

"She's losing energy," Tai said. "I think it's because her partner is losing energy as well." The digidestined stared at each other, then down at Chieko. Ken picked the snake up and continued down the stairwell. 

"So you're back, are you?" a voice said. The digidestined looked down to see Rob standing at the bottom of the staircase. "Good kids you are, helping an enemy." 

"Casia isn't our enemy," T.K. said firmly. "She's our friend!" 

"It may seem that way, but you can't forget what she is," Rob said. Then he beckoned to them. "Well, you're here, so you may as well save her. This way." The kids followed him down a dark passageway. Finally they reached a candle-lit cell and Rob waved them in. 

"My God," Ken said again. 

Casia definitely looked worse here. The blanket covering her was soaked through with blood, and she was covered with the red liquid. Several of her bones were obviously broken, and she was shivering violently. 

"She needs to see a doctor right away," Joe said. "A real one. We have to get her to the ER if possible." 

The other children nodded. Mimi looked like she was going to be sick. 

Suddenly a fierce voice came from Matt's digivice; MetalGarurumon. "Matt, we can't hold them off! EvilAngemon--Alizamon--MetalCobramon--and DarkStingmon! Hurry!" 

"DarkStingmon," Ken said quietly. 

The digidestined ran up the spiral staircase. Rob was carrying Casia, despite Joe's warning that she shouldn't be moved, and Chieko hung limply around Ken's neck. They emerged into the main room to find...more chaos. 

Almost all the walls had been blasted away. There was a giant crevice in the floor from Digmon's Rock Cracking attack. Already Lillymon, Garudamon, and MegaKabuterimon had been beaten and were lying on the floor. EvilAngemon was easily taking on Zudomon, and the two megas were trying to defeat Alizamon. Flamedramon and Digmon had teamed up and were attempting to destroy DarkStingmon, but were having no luck. MetalCobramon was struggling to break a Golden Noose as Nefertimon and Pegasusmon pulled it tighter. Halsemon was diving at the Chingomon, many of whom had either run away or been killed. Antonymon was gone. 

"Vulcan's Hammer!" 

"Evil Angel Rod!" 

"Terra Force!" 

"Metal Wolf Claw!" 

"Alizamon Beam!" 

"Fire Rocket!" 

"Gold Rush!" 

"Dark Spiking Finish!" 

"Star Shower!" 

"Rosetta Stone!" 

"Cobra Strike!" 

"Tempest Wing!" 

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" More Chingomon ran away or disintegrated. None bothered to attack. 

MetalCobramon vanished, leaving Nefertimon and Pegasusmon to attack Alizamon. She spread her crimson wings and took to the sky, with all the flying digimon after her immediately, even the weak ones. Then things took a turn for the worse... 

...as the other evil digidestined digimon appeared. 

Even without BladeDigmon, the real digidestined digimon were far outnumbered. The digimon who were only champions disappeared soon enough, but that still left DeathAngewomon, SteelFlamedramon, NightHalsemon, EvilAngemon, and DarkStingmon. 

Zudomon, Flamedramon, and Digmon, the only good digimon who weren't after Alizamon, immediately went for the strongest armor. SteelFlamedramon disappeared, soon followed by the lower level DeathAngewomon. NightHalsemon vanished with one well-placed Vulcan's Hammer, but that still left the two strongest champion digimon. 

Alizamon was back. Like Ken on the soccer field, she ran circles around the already exhausted flying digimon. One by one, they began to dedigivolve until only Pegasusmon and MegaKabuterimon were left. 

"Alizamon Beam!" 

"Evil Hand of Fate!" 

"Dark Spiking Finish!" 

"Horn Buster!" 

"Star Shower!" 

EvilAngemon was hit. He fell backwards, right on top of Alizamon. She cried out, but couldn't move. The digimon destroyed both her and EvilAngemon. 

All of the digidestined and their digimon turned to look at DarkStingmon, the only enemy left. MegaKabuterimon and Pegasusmon both dedigivolved, too worn out to stay strong. 

~We'll never beat him now. Never. It's all my fault that Wormmon isn't here to help. All my fault...all my fault...all--my--fault!~ 

"Dark Hell Squeeze!" 

"NO!" Ken shouted. His digivice began to shriek and emit dark purple beams of light, hitting DarkStingmon again and again. Finally he dissipated. 

As the digidestined headed away from the castle ruins, all Ken could think was, It's like I killed him again. I'm such an awful person...


	5. The DarkDestined

"What will we tell the medics when they get here?" Sora asked. The children had already called 911 and were waiting outside. 

"My first impression was a hit-and-run accident," Izzy said. 

"Mine too," Joe added. 

"Hmm...sounds good," Tai said. "Do we all agree on that?" 

Everyone nodded, so that was the explanation that they gave when the ambulance arrived to take Casia away. 

"No hit-and-run could do this," Matt heard one of the medics say. "Look at the poor kid--at least two broken ribs, broken or badly sprained ankle--and check out her wrist! Scars, too--look like they were made by electricity. And this cut on her head...looks like it was slammed against a wall or something." 

The digidestined exchanged guilty looks as the other man added, "And see how she's shivering!" 

Almost too soon it was time for everyone to go home. Matt and T.K. volunteered to stay with Ken for the night since he didn't look too good. Kari donated an old aquarium to keep Chieko in, although the snake obviously couldn't go anywhere. 

At some point that night, Matt woke up to hear Ken's voice. The younger child was talking in his sleep. "Wormmon...no...I'm so sorry...all my fault..." 

~Was Ken more deeply affected by this than we thought?~ Matt wondered as the boy continued to mutter his digimon's name. "Yo, T.K., wake up!" 

"Huh whaaa?" 

"T.K., are you awake?" 

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'm up...no thanks to you." 

"No sarcasm, squirt." 

T.K. suddenly seemed to snap to his senses. "What's Ken talking about?" 

"He's still asleep, 'Keru-chan. I think DarkStingmon really made him feel bad about Wormmon or something." 

"I still say we should go to Primary Village." 

"Yeah, kiddo, I agree with you." 

T.K. opened his mouth to say something but then closed it as Ken mumbled, "Brother..." 

"Ken has a BROTHER?" Matt asked. 

"I guess," T.K. answered. "But I've never heard of one..." 

"Hey, T.K., I saw a computer in the living room. Go on-line...see if there's some sort of site he created. Not in here, the light might wake him up." 

T.K. looked puzzled, but did as his older brother asked. Matt immediately walked over to Ken and gently shook him. "Ken, wake up for a sec." 

"What is it?" Ken asked sleepily, sitting up. 

"You were talking about Wormmon in your sleep, and you mentioned a brother. Is something wrong? You know we're here for you." 

Ken's eyes widened. "I said something about--never mind. No, nothing's wrong. I'm sure I'll live. You can go back to sleep now." 

Matt shook his head and got back into his sleeping bag. ~Ken is definitely hiding something,~ he thought. ~Now the question is, What?~ 

~*~ 

The digidestined gathered outside Odaiba Memorial Hospital at eleven o' clock the next morning. T.K. was still giving Matt weird glances since his brother hadn't seemed interested in what he learned...which was basically nothing, actually. 

"Who are ya here ta see?" the woman on duty asked, popping a bubble she made with a wad of gum. 

"Acacia Kaminara," Tai answered. 

"You friends o' hers?" 

"Yeah." 

"Room 207. Visiting hours end at three, remember." 

The children nodded and walked over to the elevator. Miyako pressed the button and they waited until the car FINALLY came. The people coming out stared at the kids--it isn't often you see twelve healthy kids in a hospital at the same time. Ken DID still look slightly pale, but he was definitely recovering. 

"Here it is. Room 207," Mimi said a moment later. 

Just then, a doctor came out of the next room. He stared at Chieko, hanging around Joe's neck at the moment, and then said, "Y'know, this is a PEOPLE hospital. The vet's office is on the next street over." 

"She's not hurting anything," Kari said quickly. "She belongs to the patient in this room. We thought they would enjoy seeing each other." 

"Sure. Whatever." The doctor walked away, not seeing any harm in letting the kids have their fun. 

"That was close," Daisuke said. "Let's go in." The digidestined filed into Casia's room. A nurse was just coming out, so Sora asked how Casia was doing. 

"Poor little girl," the young woman said sympathetically. "As I understand, she had a lot of broken bones--three ribs, her ankle, her wrist, and a small fracture to the collarbone. Electrical burns all over for some reason, too, and a big gash on the back of her head. Oh yes, and she had a split lip. It'll take several months for her to fully heal." 

"That's harsh," Izzy said, for once not using a big word. 

"Major harsh," Iori agreed. The young nurse walked away and the kids gathered near Casia. Suddenly Chieko began to fight Joe, twisting and trying to get at her partner. 

"Chieko--no--you'll get in trouble--" Joe said brokenly as he wrestled with her. "Jeez, Chieko, what is WRONG with you? I wish she was a proper digimon and could talk..." 

The reptile broke away from Joe and lashed out at her friend, biting her non-broken wrist. The digidestined gasped, more from wonder than shock. 

Casia was glowing, simply put. A deep purple glow surrounded her entire form, and before the kids' eyes, her injuries healed. Had anyone happened to walk past the open door at that moment--which no one did--they would have seen the miracle, and probably run screaming. 

A few moments later, Casia opened her eyes and looked at her friends. But her eyes were no longer a deep brown--they were glowing red. Mimi shrieked. "Look! A Dark Spiral!" 

"It's okay," Ken said calmly. He placed one finger on her wrist and quickly muttered three words that no one could hear. 

Nothing happened. 

"I don't get it! That should have deleted the Spiral!" he said in horror, jumping back. Chieko flew into his arms. 

"Someone else is controlling it, though," Izzy said. "It isn't Alizamon, so who?" 

Casia said in a toneless voice, "I will destroy the digidestined." 

"I bet ya anything it's a DarkDestined!" T.K. cried as the twelve backed up. "She's so nice they have to make her do what they want!" 

The others shouted, "I AGREE!" at the same time. 

"So what do we do?" Matt asked. 

"Running sounds good right now," Miyako said as Casia leapt out of bed and started walking toward them. She was still in her bloodstained clothes because the medics hadn't dared to remove them and give her the standard hospital gown. 

"Everyone, I think if we all say it at the same time it might work!" Ken called. "Repeat after me--Donsu kien no!" 

"Donsu kien no! Donsu kien no!" they all shouted. 

"What does THAT mean?" Chibimon asked. The digimon had by now popped out of the backpacks. 

"I made it up! Donsu kien no!" 

"Donsu kien no! Donsu kien no!" 

"Keep saying it," Ken reminded his friends as he ran forward to touch the Spiral again. "Together!" 

"DONSU KIEN NO!" 

The Spiral snapped. Casia sank to the floor and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were once more brown. 

"What--where am I?" 

"Casia! You're back to normal!" Daisuke exclaimed. 

"Um, yeah...why wouldn't I be?" She looked around. "Why are we HERE?" 

"We rescued you and defeated Alizamon, but then we had to get you to a hospital. Chieko healed you, but you were controlled by a Dark Spiral," Joe said. 

"Oh." Casia stood shakily. "Now what?" 

"I dunno," Tai said. "We can't let ANYONE know about what just happened. It ties in too closely with our mission, which has to be kept a secret." 

The other digidestined nodded. Suddenly Gatomon said, "I think if we digimon combine our powers we could make a memory-erase attack or something. You guys would still know, however." 

Chibimon nodded. "Sounds good!" 

Patamon grinned. "Yep! Let's try it!" The five digimon closed their eyes and began to concentrate. 

"Psychic Memory Erase!" all five shouted at once. A green swirl surrounded the digidestined and Casia, then expanded outwards. About a minute later a white flash of light pierced the room, and when it cleared, Casia's clothing was normal again. 

"Weird," Joe said simply. "Waaaaaaaaay weird!" 

"No memory of the whole thing whatsoever!" Poromon said happily. "Just don't ask us to do it again, it's very draining!" 

Suddenly Casia gasped and vanished. Ken followed soon after. 

"What was THAT?" Kari asked fearfully. 

"They were called to the Digital World," Izzy said instantly. "Casia because the DarkDestined know she won't come alone, and Ken--well, anyone got any ideas?" 

"What reason could anyone have for wanting ONE digidestined in the Digiworld?" Sora asked. "Ken has no digimon. He has no crest. Heck, he doesn't even have a real digivice!" 

"Well, let's go to the Digiworld and help him, then," Mimi said somewhat fiercely. Everyone else nodded. 

~*~ 

"Ken! Casia! Where are they?" Daisuke asked. All the digimon were at their highest level, and those who couldn't fly were riding on others as they searched the Digiworld. 

"KEN!" T.K. called out. "Casia! They have to be here SOMEWHERE." 

"Wait a second," Iori said. "I see something down there!" 

"It's Ken!" Miyako said in relief. "KEN!" The boy looked up and grinned as his friends landed around him. "Hi! What took you so long?" 

"What happened to you? You--and Casia--you vanished!" Tai said. 

"Oh, that. Well--you see--er, Gennai called us! Yeah. Casia--I don't know where she went." 

"You saw Gennai? What did he say?" Izzy asked. 

"Um...he said that the DarkDestined are...somewhere else. We're safe here..." 

"Not very interesting," Joe said. "Aw, well, you're okay, and that's what matters." 

"Yup!" 

Matt looked thoughtful. "Ken, you sound like you have no clue what you're talking about, like you're making everything up. What happened?" 

Fear evident in his blue eyes, Ken took a small step backwards. "Weeeeeeeeell...you see..." 

"Tell us what happened, Ken," Iori said. 

Suddenly a malicious grin lit the young boy's face. "That's the Digimon Kaizer to you!" he said. "I will rule this world and ours!" 

"Huh?" 

Ken pulled his fist back and punched Matt. The older child fell backward into Tai. "Hey! What was that for?!" 

"I told you, I have once again become the Digimon Kaizer! Hey, Yamato, remember what I said about my brother?" Matt nodded slowly, and Ken continued, "Well--" 

All of a sudden, he gasped and stopped talking. It looked like he was fighting inside himself. 

~Ken, what in Digiworld is going on?!~ 

~*~ 

Ken slowly opened his eyes and took a look around. He was in some sort of dark forest, lit dimly by something. It was cold. Ken wrapped his arms around his body and shivered. 

~So. You are Ken Ichijouji, kid genius.~ 

"Who are you?" Ken asked. "Where am I?" 

~Imprisoned in your own mind. You can see what you would normally see, but I alone control your actions.~ 

"But how?" 

~Look down.~ Ken obeyed and saw a Dark Spiral on his leg. It was partially hidden by his pants leg, and if he stood it would be invisible to everyone else. 

~Know now, Ken Ichijouji, that I am your worst enemy--Tashino Aiko, leader of the DarkDestined.~ 

"No!" Ken cried. 

~Forget escaping. We're going to play a little trick on your so-called friends. A fun trick to make them think you are the Digimon Kaizer again. And don't think they can tell by your eyes--I made some modifications after seeing what happened with Casia.~ 

"Where did you take her? If you hurt her, I'll--" 

~Don't make idle threats. You can't hurt me.~ There was a short pause. ~Interesting. I see you feel you killed your little digimon twice. Hmm, and you watched your older brother die. So sad.~ 

"How did you know--" 

~I know every single thing about you. Everything.~ 

Ken's eyes widened. "NO! Don't you dare tell the others!" 

~So you don't want your past ripped open, revealed? Lovely. I think I will. They should be here soon...oh, wait, there they are!~ 

Ken stood up and ran forward. "There must be a way out!" 

~There isn't.~ 

Suddenly Ken saw his friends, through his own eyes. He tried to tell them to go away, tell them about the Spiral, but all that came out of his physical body was a wave, a grin, and, "Hi! What took you so long?" 

"What happened to you? You--and Casia--you vanished!" Tai said, moving forward. 

Ken could feel the indecision in Tashino's own mind. ~Huh. Well, we'll just make something up.~ He made Ken open his mouth. Ken tried to resist, but it was impossible. 

~I can't believe I did this to hundreds of digimon...~ 

"Oh, that. Well--you see--er, Gennai called us! Yeah. Casia--I don't know where she went." Tashino breathed a mental sigh of relief. 

"You saw Gennai? What did he say?" Izzy asked. Tashino twinged. 

~Now what do I say?~ 

"You think I'm going to help you?" Ken asked sarcastically. 

"Um...he said that the DarkDestined are...somewhere else. We're safe here..." 

"Not very interesting," Joe said. "Aw, well, you're okay, and that's what matters." 

"Yup!" 

Matt looked thoughtful. "Ken, you sound like you have no clue what you're talking about, like you're making everything up. What happened?" 

Forgetting control, Tashino made Ken take a step backwards. The boy fought, but his feet moved and there was nothing he could do. His physical body was his no longer. Ken was aware of evident fear in his eyes and prayed that the others would notice something. 

"Tell us what happened, Ken," Iori said. Tashino smiled. 

~Now, THIS is where it gets fun.~ 

A malicious grin lit the young boy's face. "That's the Digimon Kaizer to you!" he said. "I will rule this world and ours!" 

"What are you doing? Let me out, stop it!" Ken yelled. 

"Huh?" Ken winced at the sound of betrayal and hurt in his friends' voices. 

~I just had a lovely thought,~ Tashino said in Ken's mind. ~Why don't we have you punch Matt? That would be interesting.~ 

"No! What are you thinking? Matt's my FRIEND!" Ken shouted. He felt Tashino smirk. Against his will, Ken pulled his fist back. "NO!" he said frantically as Tashino forced him to punch Matt. 

"Hey! What was that for?!" 

More betrayal. More hurt. More pain. More fury. Trapped in his own mind, Ken slid to the ground and buried his face in his hands. ~No...~ 

"I told you, I have once again become the Digimon Kaizer! Hey, Yamato, remember what I said about my brother?" Matt nodded slowly, and Ken continued, "Well--" 

"God, NO! You can't do this to me, you can't, you can't!" Ken wailed. He started to battle again for control of his own body, striking out blindly at nothing in particular. He felt Tashino stop controlling him with a gasp and put his full power on restraining his slave. 

~Stop fighting it. You can't win. Maybe we'll have you kill a friend, hmm?~ 

"NO!" Ken was crying now, crying hard. He felt Tashino recoil from him, and he fell down. He still had no control over himself. 

"Look! A Dark Spiral!" he vaguely heard someone say. 

"Pepper Breath!" 

The Spiral fell away, and the other digidestined watched as a sobbing, gasping, REAL Ken appeared in place of the evil one. "Matt...no...Casia..." 

"Ken, you're okay now," Matt said gently, crouching beside his friend. "We forgive you. It wasn't your fault." 

"Yes--it--was! I did--that--t-to so many h-helpless digimon--and--and--" 

"You're fine now. It's all over," Tai said firmly. "Who was controlling you?" 

"The leader of the DarkDestined, Tashino--he was going t-to make me k-kill one of you...and he did something to--to Casia--" 

"But it's okay now," Matt said. "None of us got h--really hurt, and you're fine. As Joe said, you're all right, and that's what matters." 

T.K. added, "And about that brother--" 

Ken's blue eyes widened. "Brother? What brother? Heh heh, I don't have a brother, nope, not me. Let's get going now." 

"He's hiding something," Mimi whispered to Izzy as the group set off. Izzy nodded. 

"Something about a brother. I guess we have to wait until he decides it's time for us to know," the boy replied. 

Suddenly an evil laugh rang out through the desert they were walking in. "I know who that is!" Ken cried. "It's Tashino, the leader of the DarkDestined!" 

"Yes, digidestined, it is I and my four faithful minions." Seemingly from nowhere five children appeared. 

The first and tallest was obviously Tashino. He had short, dark hair and eyes the exact color of Casia's. Black jeans and a leather jacket over a navy blue T-shirt graced his slim figure. 

Next was a girl only about an inch shorter. She had shoulder-length red hair and snapping ice-green eyes. She, too, was wearing all black. 

The third DarkDestined was a boy. He looked younger than the first two, but not much younger. He had light brown hair and red eyes, and also wore black. 

As if for a change, the next, a girl, wasn't wearing black at all--her color was royal blue. That was the color of her eyes, and she had a blue streak in her blond hair. 

Last was Casia. Her deep brown eyes were downcast, her black hair falling limply down her back. Like most of the other children, she was clothed in black. 

"Allow me to introduce us. I am the leader--Ken already knows me. My name is Tashino. This is Asha and Erek," he said, pointing to the redhead and the other boy, "as well as our good friend Ai. And now, may I announce--although you know her--Acacia Kaminara, my lovely cousin." 

"Casia's his COUSIN?" Miyako gasped. 

Tashino grinned evilly. "Yes. My cousin. Isn't that right, Cass?" 

Casia raised her head to reveal tear-stained eyes the same color as his and nodded. "Yes, Tashino. We're cousins." 

"That's not possible!" Iori said shakily. 

"And now, may I introduce our dear little digimon! Kodamon, Digi-Armor Energize!" 

Kodamon, a small gray and black Gizamon wearing boxing gloves, started to change. "Kodamon, armor-digivolve to..." He grew considerably into a brown creature, still with boxing gloves, but now with black wings. He hissed and punched the air. "Hitokomon! The Blast of Annihilation!" 

Asha moved forward. A small blue and green dinosaur peeped out from behind her. "Let's do this, Nodesumon! Digi-Armor Energize!" 

"Nodesumon, armor-digivolve to...ArmorNodesumon! The Dynamite of Destruction!" ArmorNodesumon looked like a blue and green version of MetalGreymon, only with more metal and wings of deep crimson. 

It was Erek's turn. "Come on, Bakarumon! Let's defeat the digidestined! Digi-Armor Energize, now!" 

"Bakarumon, armor-digivolve to...Kodrimon! The Grave of Death! MWAHAHAHAHA!" Once a small Bakemon with glowing purple eyes and sharp blue claws, Kodrimon looked like a cross between Devimon and a dragon. 

Mimi winced. "Did he have to do the evil laugh?" 

"MWAHAHAHAHA!" 

Ai simply said, "Digi-Armor Energize, Notomon." 

"Notomon, armor-digivolve to...Byrimon! The Ghost of Fright!" The yellow-gold goblin was now a female vampire, much like LadyDevimon. 

Iori glanced down at Armadillomon, then at his friends. In seconds, four ultimates, two megas, and five armors stood facing the evil ones. 

"GO!" 

Kodrimon flapped his dark purple wings and took to the sky, followed by ArmorNodesumon. Byrimon flew straight upwards and began to prepare an attack. Hitokomon dove toward the digimon on the ground. As he passed Casia, Chieko leapt onto his back. The girl waved slowly as both took off towards the digidestined. 

"Golden Noose!" Nefertimon and Pegasusmon shouted. The lasso surrounded Kodrimon, who immediately dedigivolved with a last evil laugh. 

"Why'd you do that to HIM?" Tai asked. 

Pegasusmon answered, "That evil laugh was REALLY getting on my nerves!" 

"Tempest Wing!" 

"Fire Rocket!" 

"Rock Cracking!" 

ArmorNodesumon was hit in the stomach with the first two attacks and knocked backwards. The ground split from Digmon's attack, causing her to nearly fall. She reverted to Nodesumon and jumped upwards, into Asha's arms. The girl narrowed her eyes. She and Erek, holding their digimon, stepped back to let the other three take the stage. 

Unfortunately for the digidestined, the last three were the strongest. Flamedramon was locked in combat with Hitokomon, already weakened by Chieko. Byrimon's Fang Arrows had forced the ultimates and MetalGarurumon to dedigivolve. Just as Pegasusmon aimed a Wind Mane her way, she flew high into the air, targeting Halsemon. 

"Darkness Cloak!" she shrieked. A blanket of blackness shot from her and settled around a thrashing Halsemon. Soon the blanket vanished to reveal a worn-out Hawkmon. 

"Darkness Cloak!" Moments after the attack began, it dissipated to show Agumon. 

"Rosetta Stone!" 

"Star Shower!" 

"Gold Rush!" 

"Flaming Fist!" 

Byrimon and Hitokomon dodged the attacks. Chieko hissed and darted off Hitokomon's back. She sank her sharp fangs into Nefertimon's ankle, then whirled on Pegasusmon. In only five seconds, she left Flamedramon standing alone. 

"Go, Flamedramon! You can beat 'em!" Daisuke shouted. 

"Fire Rocket!" The attack hit Byrimon, who finally dedigivolved. Ai caught the goblin-like digimon and cast a worried look at Tashino. His fists were clenched. Casia stood beside him, eyes riveted on the battle before them. 

"Electric Comet Punch!" Hitokomon yelled. His fist glowed and began to emit sparks. Then he jabbed at Flamedramon. 

"Flaming Fist!" Hitokomon went flying backwards. Chieko slid off him and lay on the desert floor, limp. Casia shrieked and hopped off the low plateau, racing to her defeated partner. 

"Cass, come on. We're going home," Tashino said fiercely. He jumped down beside her and grabbed his digimon. The two held their digivices up to the sky. Above them, Ai, Asha, and Erek did the same. A glowing blue light surrounded them. When it diminished, they were gone. 

"So." Mimi said after a moment. 

"Those were the DarkDestined," Tai said. 

Izzy shook his head. "This is gonna be hard. They have four armors and a poisonous snake. We have more digimon, but only five armors, two megas, and four ultimates. Without Wormmon, we don't have a chance." 

Ken sighed. "Plus, Casia saved our lives. And we saved hers. How can we really fight her? It's not possible!" 

The twelve digidestined looked at each other, then down at their exhausted digimon. It was Kari who spoke first after a long silence. 

"We just have to do it somehow. They're the DarkDestined. We are the digidestined. It's just something we have to do, and there's no way we can back out now."


	6. Marina Beam

The new digidestined gathered in the computer room  
after school, waiting for Ken to get there from  
Tamachi Elementary. The others were busy--Matt at a  
concert, Sora, Tai, and Mimi with schoolwork, Joe  
helping out at the hospital as a volunteer, and Izzy  
out on a date with some girl. Amazingly.  
  
Suddenly Mr. Fujiyama stuck his head into the room.  
"Kamiya, Takaishi, Motimiya, Hida, Inoue!" he barked.  
He had started acting like a football coach recently  
for some reason. "Drop and give me 120!"  
  
Miyako accepted his challenge, typing an average of  
124 words per minute. Mr. Fujiyama grinned at her. "My  
star pupil, Miyako Inoue!" he said happily. "You kids  
seen Mimi Tachikawa anywhere?"  
  
"Why?" Iori asked.  
  
"Her mother called long-distance to the office since  
she didn't know where to reach her. She'll be staying  
in Odaiba for three more weeks and getting her  
homework via email. Where can I find her?"  
  
"Kinomoto Hotel," T.K. answered promptly. "Cool!  
Mimi's staying!"  
  
Mr. Fujiyama left to find Mimi, and the five  
digidestined sat down to wait for Ken. Almost ten  
minutes later he flew in, panting.  
  
"S-sorry g-guys, it was my s-soccer coach--he w-wants  
me to st-start practicing m-more..." He inhaled deep  
breaths. "Just barely g-got away..."  
  
Daisuke laughed. "So, my worthy adversary is too good  
for practice."  
  
Ken blushed slightly, still attempting to breathe  
normally. "Yeah, whatever...let's go!"  
  
The six help up their digivices to the computer  
screen, which glowed. They spoke in perfect unison:  
  
"Digi-Port, open!"  
  
Moments later, they dropped to the ground in the  
Digiworld. Only it wasn't ground. It was water. Had  
they known where they were, they would have enjoyed  
the coolness and the beautiful aquamarine blue of the  
water.  
  
But they didn't know for sure.  
  
Miyako spluttered and tried to grab at Hawkmon, who  
was flying in the air above her. "What happened, where  
are we, I'm all wet! Hawkmon, get me outta here!"  
  
Iori coughed and moved his arms up and down wildly.  
"Armadillomon! Where are you?"  
  
"Veemon!" Daisuke yelped before a small wave drove him  
under for a second. When he came up, he immediately  
shouted again for his fire digimon.  
  
Kari was clinging to T.K. tightly. Patamon flew above  
their heads, while Gatomon perched on Kari's head and  
tried to remain dry. That was when the sky darkened  
above them and the waves grew choppier. None of the  
kids except Ken managed to stay up long enough to  
scream, "Digi-Armor Energize!"  
  
And of course, Wormmon was gone, so Ken didn't say it.  
  
"So, digidestined. You're back." The children glanced  
up to see Ai standing on a cliff, Notomon at her side.  
Ai snapped her fingers, and the storm stopped. An evil  
grin lit her face as her blue-streaked blond hair blew  
in a gentle breeze. It was mere seconds after that  
when six voices yelled, "Digi-Armor Energize!"  
  
Byrimon sped upwards to face the five other armors.  
"Fang Arrow!"  
  
The arrow hit Pegasusmon, who crashed into Nefertimon.  
Both dedigivolved. Two Darkness Cloaks reverted  
Halsemon and Flamedramon.  
  
"Back to the drawing board!" T.K. said. "We should  
fight in a better place!"  
  
Then they heard something that sounded like "Marina  
Beam!" None could tell where it came from, but the  
blue-green beam hit Digmon and forced him into the  
water. The digimon and their humans alternately swam  
or flew to the portal, which sat on a rock. Then they  
were home.  
  
"I can't believe it!" Chibimon said, trying to regain  
his breath. "That fight lasted a few minutes, and we  
LOST!"  
  
"The DarkDestined are different from anyone we ever  
fought before," Kari said. "Sure, they're human like  
Ken was, but think about it. There's more of them.  
They have armor digimon. It isn't gonna be easy, but  
it shouldn't be THIS hard!"  
  
Ken nodded. "However, keep in mind that we STILL have  
more digimon, even if six of them are younger forms."  
  
"Who yelled 'Marina Beam'?" Gatomon asked. "I've never  
heard of a digimon with that attack, and I don't think  
Byrimon has it."  
  
"Chingomon?" Patamon asked wearily.  
  
"We would've heard its name," Iori said.  
  
"But we DID," Kari said quietly. "Marina IS a name."  
  
Daisuke sighed. "For now, let's go home. There's  
nothing we can do about Ai or the other DarkDestined  
right now. Let our digimon rest, that's what I say."  
Noticing the wide-eyed stares of his friends, he  
asked, "What?"  
  
The others laughed and separated. Kari headed home to  
feed Miko. Daisuke started toward the field for soccer  
practice. Miyako and Iori set off together for their  
apartment building, Iori to practice kendo, Miyako to  
try once more to fix his computer. T.K. started off  
for the place where Matt was giving his concert, Ken  
following him. Eventually T.K. turned around.  
  
"Where you going, Ken?"  
  
"Matt's concert." He grinned evilly. "Daisuke's sister  
will probably be there."  
  
T.K. smiled. "Yeah."  
  
A few minutes later they entered the auditorium.  
Matt's band had just finished a song and were starting  
another one. The two young boys fell immediately into  
the rhythm.  
  
"I'll keep on running without looking back, sunshine  
day   
I won't give in to the pain of skinned knees,  
adventure   
I'll face my future, there's nothing to be afraid of   
Your smile moistens my dry throat   
  
I'll say good-bye to that coward who lives   
Deep in my heart, and become a little stronger   
  
This time I'll take off with courage   
Spread the wings of my heart and fly to the unseen  
future   
Now I'm headed towards an endless sky   
This dream adventure has only just begun   
La la la...la la la...   
  
I'll hold your hand, let's fly away, blue sky height   
Your cheerful voice and smile are dazzling, paradise   
  
Even if I get lost in the darkness, I won't give up, I  
won't lose   
I know I'll be able to find that ray of light   
I don't have time to show my tears!   
  
From now on I'll try not to show my tears   
I'll open the eyes of my heart and head for the unseen  
future   
This time I'll believe and have strength   
I'll have the courage to stand up again   
La la la...la la la...   
  
If I hang my head and droop my shoulders I'll never  
arrive   
At the wonderful, hope-filled goal   
  
I'll keep on running, keep on trying, I'll get  
stronger!   
  
This time I'll take off with courage   
Spread the wings of my heart and fly to the unseen  
future   
Now I'm headed towards an endless sky   
This dream adventure has only just begun   
La la la...la la la...   
  
La la la...la la la..."  
  
Matt struck the final chord on his guitar. "That, my  
friends, was the song Keep On. I wrote it with the  
help of my friend Maeda Ai! Okay, so maybe SHE wrote  
it and I perform it, but still..."  
  
The cheering was deafening. T.K. looked around for  
Jun, but didn't see her. Instead he saw a girl around  
his age, dressed in torn jeans and a faded leather  
jacket. Her eyes sparkled, but from here he couldn't  
see their color. He did see her hair, long and  
auburn...  
  
...and then her ice green eyes flickered in the light.  
  
"KEN!" T.K. shouted over the cheering. "Ken, it's HER!  
It's Asha! She's here!"  
  
"Here? Where?" He peered around. "WHERE, T.K.? I don't  
see her!"  
  
"Right there!"  
  
Ken's eyes focused on the girl. She hadn't seen them  
and was shouting with everyone else. Unseen by anyone  
else, a small bluish-green head peeped out from under  
her legs.  
  
Matt launched into a song called Bottom of My Heart,  
unaware of who was in the room. Soon after, the two  
boys saw Casia and Tashino in a corner with their  
digimon, as well as Ai near Asha and Erek with a group  
of tough-looking youngsters.  
  
"They're all here! The DarkDestined!" Patamon said  
fearfully.  
  
"This can't be!" Ken whispered. "How can the  
DarkDestined be at a concert like--like NORMAL people?  
And at MATT'S concert? How much you willing to bet  
this isn't a coincidence?"  
  
T.K. opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by a  
soft rumbling noise. "What was that?"  
  
The noise grew louder. Matt stopped playing and looked  
up at the ceiling like everyone else. Then came a  
sharp crack and a brief rain of plaster. Like everyone  
else, T.K. covered his face, but he noticed that  
Tashino was protecting his cousin.  
  
The roof was completely lifted off, and a strange face  
appeared in the hole. It looked almost like Myotismon,  
only different. Very different.  
  
"Let's do it!" T.K. shouted as people began to scream.  
His digivice activated itself and an ear-piercing  
shriek filled the air.  
  
"Patamon, digivolve to...Angemon! Angemon, digivolve  
to...MagnaAngemon!" The angel covered with purple  
metal flew up into the air. "Prepare to be defeated,  
Yasukemon!"  
  
"Yasu-what?" T.K. asked.  
  
Ken answered him. "Yasukemon. He is slightly related  
to Myotismon. He's an ultimate. His mega form is  
VenomYasukemon...how fitting."  
  
"Gate of--"  
  
"Blast of Ice!" The brilliant beam hit MagnaAngemon  
and froze his wings. He began to fall, and several  
shrieking people raced to get out of the way.  
  
"Digi-Armor Energize!" three voices shouted. Within  
seconds, Kodrimon, Byrimon, and ArmorNodesumon stood  
before the stunned crowd. Byrimon zipped upwards,  
grabbing MagnaAngemon and struggling to keep him  
airborne.  
  
"Jeez, MagnaAngemon, lay off the burgers!" she  
groaned, unable to shoot a Fang Arrow.  
  
"Giga Fist!" ArmorNodesumon shouted.  
  
"Dragon Fire Wind!" Kodrimon yelled.  
  
"They're...helping us?" T.K. asked, startled. Still,  
he couldn't help noticing that Tashino was holding  
both Kodamon and Chieko back while Casia looked on in  
shock.  
  
"Blast of Ice!"  
  
ArmorNodesumon's legs froze, and the ice slowly crept  
upwards until it reached her wings. She fell,  
dedigivolving and landing in Asha's arms. The same  
thing happened to Kodrimon. Ken groaned.  
  
"Oh, man! MagnaAngemon can't attack, and Byrimon has  
to hold him up! Dang, this really bites!"  
  
The crowd was slightly thinner since several people  
had decided it would be wise to get out. T.K. was able  
to take a few steps forward and call out,  
"MAGNAANGEMON!"  
  
"Blast of Ice!"  
  
Ken, Matt, every digimon in the place, and all the  
DarkDestined except Tashino screamed. The attack was  
clearly aimed straight at T.K., and it hit its target.  
T.K. managed to cry out before freezing completely.  
  
Matt jumped off the stage, but another blast froze him  
as well. The lethal cannon was next aimed at Casia...  
  
"CASIA!" Ken shouted. He flew forward and knocked her  
out of the way just in time. They landed together on  
the floor just as the other people decided that this  
place was dangerous and started shoving their way out.  
  
"What do we do?" Erek asked. All except Tashino seemed  
to have forgotten that they were enemies--the boy  
stood back and watched with narrowed eyes.  
  
"Here's my plan," Ken said softly so that Yasukemon  
wouldn't hear. "If Byrimon can distract him,  
MagnaAngemon can use his attack--whatever THAT is.  
Bakarumon, are you still a fire type?"  
  
"I have a Fire Wind attack."  
  
"Good. Fire Wind is good. Unfreeze MagnaAngemon's  
wings at the EXACT SAME TIME Byrimon lets go of him  
and attacks." Ken turned and looked up at the vampire.  
"Byrimon, let go and attack!"  
  
She obeyed instantly, and just as her gloved fingers  
left MagnaAngemon's arms, Bakarumon jumped onto Erek's  
head and yelled, "Fire Wind!" The attack hit  
MagnaAngemon's wings, and the ice melted. Yasukemon  
was very weak, and the Darkness Cloak was just  
diminishing...Yasukemon prepared to attack...  
  
"Marina Beam!"  
  
"Gate of Destiny!"  
  
The beam of azure light hit Yasukemon and forced him  
into the portal, and all the children cheered. Then  
Ken remembered his friends. "Matt! T.K.!"  
  
Bakarumon had already defrosted Matt and was blasting  
away at T.K. Matt blinked and then flew forward. "Stop  
it! Stop hurting my brother!"  
  
"It's all right. We're unified...for the moment," Ken  
said. He walked over and pulled T.K. to his feet. By  
the time he turned, the DarkDestined were gone.  
  
"I heard it again," Ken said as the three boys walked  
home a few minutes later.  
  
"What?" Tokomon asked from his perch on T.K.'s hat.  
  
"Marina Beam. Now, let's count off. None of the  
DarkDestined are named Marina. And they're all humans  
as far as we know, right?" The other two nodded,  
though Matt was confused-looking. "You two were  
frozen. I didn't do it. Yasukemon wasn't there the  
first time. All the other people were outside, and the  
beam came from inside. It's not MagnaAngemon's attack,  
and the other digimon aren't Chingomon." He paused.  
"Where did it come from?"  
  
"Ai and Byrimon were there both times," T.K. said.  
"But Byrimon isn't a Chingomon, and Ai isn't one,  
either. It must have been a digimon who was there, but  
wasn't seen."  
  
Tokomon looked slightly put out, but nodded.  
  
Then Matt gasped and pointed upwards, where something  
that looked like a star was falling towards them,  
shining with a deep purplish light. "It's--it's a tag  
and crest!"  
  
The two seemed to glow brighter as they fell straight  
into Ken's hands. He peered down at them and could  
only inhale sharply when he saw the symbol. "That's  
the symbol I put on my glasses!" Another intake of  
breath followed when the tag shot upwards and settled  
around the boy's neck.  
  
"A real tag and crest!" T.K. said. "But we use  
DigiMentals now!"  
  
"Cool," was Matt's only reply.  
  
The next day all the digidestined met after school,  
Ken proudly wearing his crest, although he knew  
without Wormmon it was useless. He held out the Dark  
Digivice and shouted, "Digi-Port, open!"  
  
This time they were graced to land ON the cliff near  
the water instead of IN the water itself. Izzy  
breathed a sigh of relief. "Prodigious, we're at an  
advantage here!"  
  
In a few minutes all of the digimon, fully evolved,  
stood protectively near their respective partners.  
"Any minute now, she'll show," MetalGreymon said in a  
hushed voice. He and WereGarurumon had refrained from  
going mega--for the time being. However, Gatomon was  
Nefertimon, and Patamon--who had digivolved after a  
good meal--was Pegasusmon, not to mention that  
Flamedramon was Raidramon for a change.  
  
"Is she coming? I'm cold," Daisuke said soon after.  
  
"Be patient," Raidramon growled.  
  
At that moment, a poison-tipped arrow struck him and  
forced him down to Veemon again. The arrow was  
accompanied by a cry of, "Fang Arrow!"  
  
"Raidramon!" Daisuke cried. He ran forward and looked  
up at Ai and Byrimon. Ai was in her digimon's arms.  
She leapt off and landed before the digidestined.  
  
"Hello, my dear little friends. I'm afraid since  
Yasukemon's threat is gone, we are enemies once more."  
She smirked. "Byrimon?"  
  
"Darkness Cloak!" Both Digmon and Nefertimon were  
absorbed by the cloak. The remaining digimon quickly  
attacked.  
  
"Wind Mane!"  
  
"Tempest Wing!"  
  
"Giga Blaster!"  
  
"Garuru Kick!"  
  
"Wing Blade!"  
  
"Flower Cannon!"  
  
"Vulcan's Hammer!"  
  
"Horn Buster!"  
  
The many attacks were too much for Byrimon. Mumbling  
one last, "Fang Arrow," she disintegrated. The arrow  
hit Lillymon and made her dedigivolve.  
  
Ai bit her lip and took a small step backwards. A  
sudden noise from behind the group made them whip  
around. Yet another Marina Beam hit Garudamon and  
MegaKabuterimon in the back.  
  
"Who keeps doing that?" Miyako asked, frustrated.  
  
"Me." The digidestined whipped around to see Ai  
grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "You didn't see it?"  
  
Suddenly Tai did see. The blue all over...the fact  
that it had to be a Chingomon...it all fit. But there  
was still one point of confusion left...  
  
"Your name isn't Marina!"  
  
Ai smiled wider. "Nope. I AM a Chingomon, that I  
admit, but my name is Ai. You missed it." She raised  
her arms to her forehead and flicked her fingers  
across it. Then she quickly stretched her arms forward  
and released the blue energy, shrieking very plainly,  
"Ai Marina Beam!"  
  
"We can kill her," Joe whispered. "She'll be  
rejuvenated in Primary Village like all the other  
digimon!"  
  
Instantly the remaining digimon attacked, but Ai was  
faster. Like all Chingomon, she had wings, large  
indigo ones. She spread them and flew upwards, sending  
her own attack out again and again. Soon only Halsemon  
and MetalGreymon still stood.  
  
"Rob Dynamite Blast!"  
  
Ken gasped and looked upwards. "Rob!" he yelped with  
glee. The Chingomon had spread dark yellow wings and  
shot a red blast of light at Ai. She barely ducked,  
but her wings were grazed and she crashed to the  
ground.  
  
"Tempest Wing!"  
  
"Mega Claw!"  
  
Energy spent, the last reserves of the digidestined  
fell. Rob had already disappeared, for some reason.  
Luckily, Ai was in no position to attack. One attack,  
just one attack, even an In-Training's, would destroy  
her. But the digimon couldn't do it; they were bruised  
and cut too badly. If only they had one more  
digimon...just one...  
  
"Bubble Blow!"  
  
The little pink bubbles smashed into Ai, who twitched  
and lay still. None of the digimon was in their  
In-Training form, so who was it?  
  
"Bubble Blow!"  
  
Ai dissipated and the digimon who had attacked hopped  
forward. "Yay! We WON!"  
  
"Who--" Tai started to say. Then he stopped. Ken had  
taken a shaky step forward and knelt to welcome the  
digimon. Eyes shining with tears, he held it close and  
whispered one word:  
  
"Wormmon..."


	7. Odaiba Under Attack

"Yup! It's me!" The tiny digimon snuggled closer to  
his digidestined. "I missed ya, Ken."  
  
Ken closed his eyes. "Wormmon."  
  
"Nope! Minomon now!" The worm-like creature looked up  
at Ken. "See, I was in Primary Village as my Baby  
form, Leafmon. I digivolved to Minomon and came after  
you!"  
  
"I'm glad."  
  
Then Wormmon noticed the tag hanging against Ken's  
chest. "You got your crest!"  
  
Ken nodded and smiled slightly. "I sure did, but I  
have no clue what it means. Do you?"  
  
"Sure ya know, remember? That symbol--I remember you  
putting it on your glasses. You said it reflected your  
personality or something." "So what crest IS it?"  
  
"Hey, I said I know you named it, not I know WHAT!"  
  
Ken sighed. "Just forget it for now." He stood up,  
still holding his digimon friend. "I'm sorry,  
Worm--MINOMON. It's my fault you died in the first  
place."  
  
"Stop it," Mimi said calmly. "Stop berating yourself  
about it. Minomon's back now, that's all that matters,  
right?"  
  
Ken nodded slowly. "Yeah. Let's go, my parents are  
getting back from that trip tonight and I have some  
SERIOUS cleaning up to do..."  
  
The others laughed and turned to the small television  
that would take them home. None of them noticed when  
Ken gently hugged his digimon, tears shimmering in  
smoke-blue eyes. And it was only one person who heard  
him whisper, "I love you, Minomon."  
  
That person was not a digidestined.  
  
She leaned backwards in the chair near her computer  
and clicked it off. "I know how you feel, Ken. I know.  
Believe it or not."  
  
The phone rang, and she picked it up. "Hello? Hey,  
Erek. You--you want me to do WHAT?!"  
  
"Fine," the young male's voice said. "If you don't  
want to prove your worth as a DarkDestined..."  
  
"You do it. They wouldn't dare hurt you--you're  
human."  
  
"So are you."  
  
"Look, I will NOT fight them just yet! I'm not ready."  
  
"You're willing to give up the chance to defeat the  
digidestined once and for all? Tsk, tsk, tsk. What  
will Tashino say?"  
  
"Blackmailer," she hissed. "I, for one, know you'll  
lose. I'll get a chance anyway."  
  
He laughed sharply. "You think I like this? We didn't  
ask to be DarkDestined. Maybe I'll just give up,  
surrender!"  
  
"You wouldn't."  
  
"I would. Sayonara."  
  
She slammed the phone down and grit her teeth. ~Oh,  
Erek. I'll show you. I'll show you AND Tashino that  
I'm a good DarkDestined!~  
  
"Are you coming to eat, dear?"  
  
The girl tutted. "Aw, Mom, you're insane!"  
  
She flipped her hair over a shoulder and walked out of  
the room just as the phone rang again. She ignored it.  
  
On the other end, another girl tapped her fingers  
against a desk. "C'mon, pick up." After a minute of  
endless ringing, the girl placed the phone in its  
cradle with a frustrated sigh. She fell back onto her  
bed.  
  
"Ashira Tomoyo...you will PAY for what you just did to  
Erek! You will so totally pay for that!"  
  
A mysterious grin lit Casia's face and she turned to  
Chieko. "Blackmail time," she said happily. "I never  
thought I would do this, but she can't send Erek in  
there to do her dirty work." Casia stole a glance at  
an obviously confused Chieko. "You hadn't noticed?  
Lovely." She picked up her phone and began to dial.  
Suddenly she laid the phone back in its cradle.  
  
"Better yet, I can help the digidestined. THAT will  
get at her." She paused, and then picked up what  
looked like a long, winged stick. "Never thought I  
would use the wish KaliNa gave me," she said softly.  
At Chieko's hiss, she added, "I never told you about  
KaliNa, did I? No matter." She closed her eyes and  
began to chant.  
  
"Forever sun, forever rain, forever joy, forever pain,  
forever gone, forever here, please grant my wish, one  
who is near!" She paused. "The digidestined I must  
help, surrender what won't make them yelp!"  
  
She twirled the stick, and nine flashes of light shot  
from it. They landed in her hands--cards, each a  
different color. Three more followed, and the winged  
stick disappeared.  
  
"That was an incredibly corny rhyme. What now?" Casia  
asked. After a minute, she shrugged and threw open her  
window, allowing the wind to claim them. "Let them  
reach the digidestined...please..."  
  
  
  
"Mom! Dad!"  
  
Ken flew into his mother's arms the second he saw her.  
Secretly he hoped she wouldn't see the slightly moving  
lump in his backpack that was Wormmon, who had  
digivolved just as they left. She didn't see it,  
though.  
  
"Ken, dear, we missed you!" Mrs. Ichijouji said  
cheerfully. "Hope you haven't been to any wild  
parties!"  
  
Ken thought back to the concert and shook his head.  
"No way!"  
  
"What's that?" Mr. Ichijouji asked, pointing at the  
tag and crest.  
  
"I...got it from a friend."  
  
"What friend?"  
  
"Um...Matt Ishida." It was the first name that came to  
mind. Wormmon snickered softly, and Ken got an almost  
uncontrollable urge to whack him.  
  
"What were you doing?" the boy hissed when they were  
alone in his room.  
  
"You--sounded odd--Ken--" Wormmon was laughing  
hysterically now.  
  
Suddenly the phone rang. Ken grabbed it and shot a  
death glare at Wormmon before saying, "Hello?"  
  
"Ken?" Kari's voice asked softly.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Ken, I need help. Shh, don't talk loud. They might  
hear you."  
  
"They? Who's they?"  
  
"The Bakemon. Someone brought Bakemon to the real  
world and now they're here. They have Mom, and Dad,  
and Tai! They even have Gatomon! I'm hiding under my  
bed. Hurry, Ken!" "Kari?" he asked. His voice was met  
by the dull buzzing of the dial tone. Suddenly his  
window flew open. He whirled, expecting Bakemon.  
Instead, a card flew in. All over it was the color of  
his crest. He snatched it from the air and stared at  
it.  
  
"Wormmon, what is this?" he asked. The worm shrugged.  
  
"I heard what you two said. Forget the card, let's go  
help Kari!"  
  
Ken nodded sharply and stuffed the card into his  
pocket. Then he grabbed a light jacket and ran out of  
the room, Wormmon at his side.  
  
  
  
Matt and T.K. panted, leaning against the door. They  
heard the Vegiemon smacking against it repeatedly,  
unable to enter.  
  
"What--did we--do to them?" Matt asked in between deep  
breaths. His younger brother, who was visiting, simply  
shrugged and leaned heavily on the door.  
  
"Man! Maybe you should digivolve, Patamon."  
  
The small brown digimon shook his head. "Not enough  
room!"  
  
Matt moaned and banged his fist against the door.  
"Dang it! Now what?"  
  
Suddenly the door opened, knocking both boys  
backwards. They gasped as the Vegiemon were held back  
by the force of the wind. Then two cards, blue and  
yellow, shot into the room and into their hands. The  
door closed.  
  
"Whoa. Cool."  
  
  
  
"Digivolve or something!" Miyako screamed as she and  
Iori backed away from a group of Gazimon.  
  
"I can't, Miyako!"  
  
"Electric Stun Blast!"  
  
The humans and their digimon ducked and ran into  
Miyako's closet. They huddled in the dark room,  
holding each other and listening to the banging on the  
door.  
  
Then...it stopped. A whirring sound crept into the  
closet. Iori slowly pushed open the door--and was  
promptly greeted by two cards. One red and green, the  
other gray and purple, they flew into their owners'  
hands. The door banged shut, and the Gazimon resumed  
their attacking.  
  
  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"  
  
"Hush, Jun! It's okay, no Dark Rings!"  
  
"No WHAT?"  
  
Suddenly the approaching group of Gatomon--evil  
ones--leapt forward. Daisuke yanked his sister onto  
the balcony and slammed the door. "Guess they WEREN'T  
good!"  
  
"Daisuke!"  
  
The boy turned. On the balcony a few doors over stood  
Sora. Next to her was Mimi, and to the left and one  
floor down stood Joe.  
  
At that moment four brightly glowing things dashed  
into their hands. Daisuke's was blue and orange.  
Sora's was red. Mimi's was green. Joe's was dark gray.  
  
The Gatomon pressed on, and the glass door shattered.  
  
  
  
"Don't you dare say 'Prodigious,' Izzy!" Tai shouted.  
  
"Wouldn't think of it!"  
  
The two had both been captured by Bakemon and were  
flying over Odaiba. Where they were going, they didn't  
know.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
Two shining objects--purple and orange--shot toward  
them. They landed in their pockets and started to glow  
brilliantly. The Bakemon cried out in pain and dropped  
their victims.  
  
As they fell toward Earth, Tai yelled, "THAT WASN'T A  
GOOD IDEA!"  
  
"I'LL SAY!"  
  
  
  
SMACK.  
  
"Let go of me!"  
  
SMACK.  
  
"Where did you take my son?"  
  
SMACK.  
  
"LET GO!"  
  
SMACK.  
  
"If you hurt him...and where did Kari go?"  
  
Tears streamed silently down Kari's cheeks. ~Oh, Mom,  
what are they doing to you?~  
  
~Do not cry, Hikari.~  
  
A pink card hovered before the girl. She reached out  
to take it. Just as her fingers closed around it, she  
heard something.  
  
"Kari!"  
  
The door flew open, and Kari's eyes widened as she saw  
Ken and Wormmon step into her bedroom. Ken was holding  
a glowing card like her own. Its light had frozen the  
Bakemon in their tracks. He reached down to help her.  
  
"What are these things?"  
  
~Turn it over.~  
  
Before Ken could reply, Kari flipped the card over.  
Nothing. Ken gave her an odd look, but turned over his  
own just as the Bakemon regained their movement.  
  
"It says, 'Ken-chan, use these wisely, KaliNa gave me  
a wish and I used it on these. They are VERY IMPORTANT  
in your quest to defeating us, hopefully without  
bloodshed on either side. Love from Casia.' Why would  
she help us?"  
  
Kari opened her mouth to reply, but screamed instead  
as a dark beam of light hit Ken in the back of the  
head.  
  
  
  
"MAAAAAAAAAAAATT!"  
  
T.K. cried out in pain as a Vegiemon whipped him.  
Another had pinned his brother tightly against a chair  
and was striking him as Patamon helplessly watched  
from where vines bound him to the bedpost.  
"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATT!"  
  
"Don't--hurt--my--brother!" Matt shouted in between  
blows. His face was already a mass of bruises. "Stop  
it!"  
  
The blue card glowed again from where it had fallen on  
the floor. Six bright lights whipped out of it,  
forming what LOOKED like a person. The person--a young  
girl--darted after the Vegiemon. They ran, all but  
two--the ones beating up the two boys. The girl  
whirled on the one slapping Matt.  
  
"We can win!" T.K. cried before a vine slapped his  
cheek. The yellow card also started glowing. A boy  
came out of it in the same way the girl had and freed  
him from the Vegiemon's grasp. He slid to the ground,  
covered in bruises and cuts. The gleaming children  
turned to face the Vegiemon that was still whacking  
Matt with all its strength.  
  
"Vegiemon, digivolve to...RedVegiemon!" The red  
vegetable whipped Matt, who slumped to the floor,  
bleeding freely.  
  
"NO!"  
  
  
  
Miyako and Iori cowered as the Gazimon advanced.  
Several Electric Stun Blasts had burst the closet door  
and spilled the young children onto the floor. Now the  
attackers walked slowly to their victims. One shot its  
attack straight at Iori.  
  
"Iori, no!" Miyako shouted as the electricity hit him.  
The card that had fallen from her hand glowed and a  
beam of light zoomed out. It knocked the Gazimon away,  
wrapping itself tightly around six.  
  
"In my--humble opinion--those cards are--like  
the--crests," Iori said. Their digimon struggled  
against their bonds--ropes that WERE part of a science  
project.  
  
"Miyako!"  
  
"Iori!"  
  
The purple and gray card also glowed. Its violet light  
trapped several more Gazimon. Only one escaped the  
beams. It shot an attack at Poromon.  
  
"Poromon, digivolve to...Hawkmon! Hawk Charge!"  
  
The Gazimon in the beams disappeared--where to, not  
even Iori could say. The one that was left turned to  
the beams.  
  
But it wasn't going down without a fight.  
  
"Electric Stun Blast!"  
  
"Hawk Char--OW!" It knocked Hawkmon over. Miyako raced  
to him as Armadillomon appeared in a burst of yellow  
light.  
  
"What now?"  
  
  
  
Daisuke, Sora, Mimi, and Joe were all separated, but  
all could hear quite fine. They heard Jun scream over  
and over; heard the attacks of the Gatomon; heard  
Daisuke's yelp as he jumped from his balcony to the  
one next door; heard, worst of all, the shattering of  
glass in other apartments as Gatomon swarmed  
throughout the building.  
  
Then each card activated. Their light blazed like a  
fire and hit the Gatomon. Within seconds, Joe's floor  
was empty. Sora and Mimi watched in horror as their  
fiery blaze took out many more. Daisuke's blaze  
rescued Jun and deleted more.  
  
"What are these things?" Sora shouted in confusion as  
yet more Gatomon swarmed towards her.  
  
"Who knows?" Joe asked as the last of the Gatomon  
dissipated. Suddenly one darted out of Daisuke's  
apartment and leapt from balcony to balcony, until it  
reached the one where he and his sister stood. Jun  
cried out again as the Gatomon scratched her and  
whipped Daisuke with her tail.  
  
"HELP ME!"  
  
  
  
As Tai and Izzy fell toward the ground, the orange and  
purple cards fell out of their pockets, glowing like  
crazy. Tai gasped as the orange glow expanded to cover  
him in a sort of bubble that slowed his descent. The  
same thing happened to Izzy.  
  
The Bakemon didn't like this. Two swooped down and  
punched at the bubbles. Izzy's refuge burst a second  
before Tai's did. They clawed wildly at the Bakemon  
for support.  
  
It was useless. Gatomon's claws were sharper, and she  
was still fighting above them. Then she made a  
breakthrough as an orange bubble surrounded her. It  
burst when poked, defeating all the Bakemon except the  
two still after Tai and Izzy.  
  
Gatomon fell, right on top of one Bakemon. The other  
was grabbed by both boys, and then Gatomon. It  
struggled to stay up, but then all four began to fall  
once more...  
  
  
  
Kari shrieked again as Ken crumpled to the floor.  
Almost instantly, the card began to glow. Several  
Bakemon were sucked into the light, leaving five. Two  
were holding her parents in the other room. Three were  
struggling to get into her bedroom.  
  
"Ken!" Wormmon shouted. "KEN!"  
  
The dark-colored card began to glow...  
  
"Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!"  
  
Kari shrieked again, this time in glee. "Stingmon! We  
can win now!"  
  
Ken groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. Then he  
noticed Stingmon. "All right! Go get 'em! Use your  
Spiking Finish!"  
  
"How did you--"  
  
"Forget it!"  
  
"Spiking Finish!"  
  
Two Bakemon vanished. The one holding Kari's father  
let go and flew away, but the dark card sucked it in,  
along with the one in the doorway. Suddenly the one  
holding Mrs. Kamiya let go and shot towards Kari.  
  
"Hell Squeeze!"  
  
The Bakemon was stopped in its tracks and pulled into  
the pink card, which clattered to the floor. Ken's  
flew into his hand.  
  
"Cool!" Then Ken happened to glance out the window.  
Kari looked over his shoulder and gasped as his  
stomach turned over.  
  
  
"It's Kuwagamon!"  
  
"What's he doing here?"  
  
  
Kuwagamon was flying around. Kari saw many other types  
of digimon everywhere, attacking and blowing buildings  
apart.  
  
"Odaiba is under attack," Ken said softly.  
  
"But--why?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Wormmon crept over to them. "Ken, maybe we should go  
find the others."  
  
The dark-haired boy nodded. He and Kari ran from the  
room.  
  
  
  
"MATT!" T.K. yelled. He ran to his brother, barely  
noticing that the boy from his card had deleted  
RedVegiemon. "Matt!"  
  
The yellow card fell to the ground, but the blue girl  
walked calmly to Matt. She laid her hand on his head  
and started to hum. T.K. watched in shock as Matt's  
wounds disappeared, leaving him unharmed and  
unconscious. The girl turned quietly to him.  
  
T.K. nodded slowly and held out his arm. As soon as  
she touched him his cuts and bruises vanished. She  
swept back into the card.  
  
"T.K.?"  
  
T.K. turned to Patamon, now free of the vines. "What?"  
  
"Wake Matt up and let's go!"  
  
T.K. nodded. "Go where, though?"  
  
"To meet the others! Odaiba is under attack!"  
  
Matt moaned and opened his indigo eyes. T.K. pulled  
him up.  
  
"To Odaiba Park, then!"  
  
"What?" Matt asked as Patamon and T.K. pulled him out  
the door.  
  
  
  
The purple, gray, green, and red beams shot around and  
around, trapping the last Gazimon. It sighed and  
resigned to its fate...after shooting one last blast  
at Miyako. It grazed her arm, making her shriek with  
pain just as it disappeared.  
  
"Mi--ya--ko...are you--all right?"  
  
Miyako held her arm tight to her side. "Oh, no! Are  
you okay? I'm fine, but...please...oh, God, Hawkmon!"  
  
"I'm okay."  
  
Iori hurried over. "Miyako! Are you okay?"  
  
Miyako rolled her eyes. "I've only been saying it for  
the last ten minutes!"  
  
Iori grinned at her sarcasm and picked up his card.  
"Cool. We should go get the others."  
  
"Where are they?"  
  
Hawkmon sat up. "We should go where people gather, of  
course!"  
  
"Odaiba Park!" the human children cried out at once.  
They raced from the room, followed by their digi-pals.  
  
  
  
"JUN!" Daisuke screamed. He barely noticed Chibimon  
blowing bubbles at the Gatomon as he tugged at it,  
wincing as its tail whipped his legs. He felt the  
electricity of a Lightning Claw shudder through Jun's  
body. "JUN!"  
  
"Daisuke!" someone screamed. Sora. She vaulted onto  
his balcony and whapped the Gatomon with a tennis  
racket. Mimi, looking nervous, leapt onto Daisuke's  
balcony just as the cards' blaze enveloped the final  
Gatomon.  
  
Jun clutched at her brother, shaking. "Daisuke, what  
was THAT? Why were those cats attacking us?"  
  
Daisuke ignored her and picked up Chibimon. "Sora,  
Mimi, we have to find the others."  
  
"Others? What others?"  
  
Sora called down to Joe, and he came up with the  
suggestion of the park. The four digidestined left,  
leaving a bewildered Jun.  
  
"Daisuke, WHAT is going ON here?!"  
  
  
  
"HELP!" Tai, Izzy, and Gatomon yelled desperately as  
they and the Bakemon began to fall. "HELP! HELP US!"  
  
Gatomon somehow began to glow. "Gatomon, digivolve  
to...Angewomon!" She swept the two boys up and began  
flying toward the park.  
  
"What about the Bakemon?" Izzy asked.  
  
Suddenly the bubbles from the cards shot backwards.  
The STILL falling Bakemon vanished under the assault,  
and the darkened cards landed in their owners' hands.  
  
"To the park!" Tai shouted. "That's where we always  
meet!"  
  
  
  
Five minutes later, Ken, Kari, and Wormmon met  
Daisuke, Mimi, Sora, Joe, and Veemon, who had  
digivolved when they met a horde of Numemon. Shortly  
after, T.K., Patamon, and Matt appeared, followed by  
Miyako, Iori, Armadillomon, and Hawkmon. Last came  
Tai, Izzy, and Angewomon, who dedigivolved as soon as  
she let go of them. The children exchanged stories,  
and then pulled out their cards.  
  
"It's weird," Izzy said thoughtfully. "We were all in  
groups, and each group had more than one card. All the  
cards in a particular group acted the same way.  
People, fire, beams of light, portals, bubbles...but  
how do we know they'll act the same in another  
situation?"  
  
"Exactly. We don't," Ken said. "All we know are a few  
things: Casia gave them to us, they have a lot of  
power, and they were meant for us. We can tell by the  
fact that they're colored like our crests."  
  
Kari looked at her pink card. "This one means light,  
right, Gatomon?"  
  
"Courage!"  
  
"Friendship!"  
  
"Knowledge!"  
  
"Hope!"  
  
"Sincerity!"  
  
"Reliability!"  
  
"Love!"  
  
The new digidestined grinned and looked at theirs.  
  
"Mine stands for courage AND friendship!"  
  
"Sincerity and love!"  
  
"And mine is knowledge and reliability!"  
  
Ken sighed. "I wish I could remember what my crest  
means."  
  
"Why would Casia give them to us?" Tai asked. "She's,  
like, the enemy!"  
  
Once more, Ken flipped his over and read it. "It says,  
'Ken-chan, use these wisely, KaliNa gave me a wish and  
I used it on these. They are VERY IMPORTANT in your  
quest to defeating us, hopefully without bloodshed on  
either side. Love from Casia.' Who's KaliNa, why would  
she want us to defeat her, and how exactly are these  
cards important?"  
  
Miyako, Iori, Izzy, and Tai were all crowded around  
Izzy's laptop. Within seconds Izzy yelled, "I got it!"  
  
"I don't know how you do it, Izzy, but it's awesome!"  
Daisuke said. Izzy had brought up each of the  
DarkDestined's profiles. All twelve children and six  
digimon read the words:  
  
Name: Ashira "Asha" Tomoyo  
Age: 12  
School: Odaiba Elementary  
Digimon: Nodesumon--ArmorNodesumon  
Digimon Attacks: Giga Fist, Armor Crush  
DigiMental: Destruction  
Other: Asha Tomoyo is a brilliant girl. As a  
DarkDestined, she loves to fight and follows the  
leader willingly. As a human, she keeps up a low  
profile at her school. As both, she has a major crush  
on the leader of the DarkDestined, Tashino.  
  
Name: Erek Yamazuki  
Age: 10  
School: Odaiba Elementary  
Digimon: Bakarumon--Kodrimon  
Digimon Attacks: Dragon Fire Wind  
DigiMental: Death  
Other: Erek Yamazuki is one of the gentlest  
DarkDestined. He doesn't want to fight, but he has to.  
As a normal human, he is kind to others. Kodrimon, his  
dragon-like digimon, is also known as the Grave of  
Death, powerful despite his somewhat flaky appearance.  
  
Name: Ai  
Age: Equivalent to 10 human years  
Species: Chingomon  
Attacks: Ai Marina Beam, Ai Supersonic Wave  
Digimon: Notomon--Byrimon  
Digimon Attacks: Fang Arrow, Darkness Cloak  
DigiMental: Fright  
Other: Ai is the only DarkDestined not to be human.  
She is a Chingomon, a human-like digimon. Like all the  
DarkDestined, her mission is to destroy the  
digidestined. She manages to keep her identity a  
secret when in the real world.  
  
Name: Tashino Aiko  
Age: 12  
School: Tamachi Elementary  
Digimon: Kodamon--Hitokomon  
Digimon Attacks: Electric Comet Punch  
DigiMental: Annihilation  
Other: Tashino is the leader of the DarkDestined. He  
is Casia's cousin. It will be hard for the  
digidestined to defeat him since he will never  
surrender and is a human. He is the only child of the  
Digiworld not to go to Odaiba Elementary, except Ken  
Ichijouji, who also attends Tamachi.  
  
The digidestined looked up at each other, then down at  
the last profile.  
  
Name: Acacia "Casia" Kaminara  
Age: 11  
School: Odaiba Elementary  
Digimon: Chieko  
Digimon Attacks: None  
DigiMental: Sacrifice  
Other: Casia Kaminara is the kindest of the  
DarkDestined. She is the only one who knows about  
Asha's love for Tashino. She has perfect blackmail  
opportunity, but probably won't use it. As a human,  
Casia is a sweet girl, well loved at her school.  
  
"Miyako, isn't Asha in your class?" Iori asked.  
  
"Yeah, I never noticed! What about Casia?"  
  
Daisuke nodded. "She's in our class. Funny, how we  
never saw it before."  
  
"So Asha likes Tashino, huh?" Matt said. "Perfect for  
blackmail, should the need arise. Izzy, look up  
KaliNa."  
  
"Nothing," Izzy said after a moment. "Nothing  
whatsoever."  
  
A missile flew over Joe's head. "Let's get outta here,  
it's dangerous!"  
  
The digidestined ran from the park as the sky turned  
pale pink above them. Ken groaned. "We've been up ALL  
NIGHT?!"  
  
As the first ray of sunlight shot across Odaiba, all  
the digimon attacking Odaiba...disappeared. Just  
vanished. All the evidence that remained was the  
burned and cracked buildings, which were quickly  
rebuilding.  
  
"Weird out!" Tai said.  
  
"Major weird out!" Matt agreed. The digidestined all  
yawned.  
  
"Let's go--home," Kari said as Tai took her hand. The  
other children nodded, and each set off for home,  
wherever that might be.  
  
Odaiba was fine. And hopefully it would stay that way  
until they got to Digiworld and found out what  
happened.


	8. Gennai's Library

Miyako shivered. She was standing at her window,  
unable to sleep. She had changed into her nightgown,  
which only made her colder in the early morning.  
Hawkmon slept on a pile of blankets, oblivious to his  
digidestined child.  
  
Ten minutes later, a fully dressed Miyako slipped into  
the schoolyard. In a few hours on a school day it  
would be chock full of children, and she might have a  
chance of seeing Erek, Casia, or Asha. But it was  
Saturday.  
  
"Miyako!"  
  
The girl saw Daisuke waving to her from the doorway  
where he and Ken stood. "You couldn't sleep either?"  
  
"No."  
  
Ken nodded. "I'm tired, but I just can't sleep."  
  
"Where's Wormmon?"  
  
"Sleeping. Veemon's asleep too, and I'm assuming  
Hawkmon is in the same condition."  
  
Miyako thought of all her friends, including her  
partner, and wondered what they were doing now.  
Probably sleeping. That was where Hawkmon, Wormmon,  
and Veemon were.  
  
"We can't go to Digiworld," Miyako said. "We don't  
have any way to defend ourselves."  
  
Daisuke shrugged. "Wasn't Digiworld what brought us  
here? We aren't planning to fight. We just want to  
know what happened to Odaiba last night."  
  
Miyako and Ken nodded. The trio walked slowly into the  
school. Suddenly a call rang out. "Wait up, you guys!"  
  
Sora dashed over to them, panting. "Hey. I couldn't  
fall asleep, so I came here. I guess Garudamon can  
protect us all, right?"  
  
Ken nodded. "Sure. Digi-Port, open!"  
  
The four humans landed in a sunny field. Miyako  
instantly felt warmer. Somehow it was much earlier in  
the day here. Just as Biyomon flew into Sora's arms,  
they heard shrieks from somewhere above...  
  
"What--where'd the floor go?!"  
  
"Tai! Help me, Tai!"  
  
"Falling again!"  
  
"This is highly unusual!"  
  
"What's happening to me?"  
  
"Patamon!"  
  
"I'm okay, T.K., I can fly!"  
  
"Oh, great, now I'll NEVER be ready for that quiz!"  
  
"Kari!"  
  
"Be careful, Iori!"  
  
"Where are you, Miyako?"  
  
"Daisuke?"  
  
"Where's Ken?"  
  
"This is perfect. Absolutely perfect. HELP!"  
  
The remaining eight digidestined and the left-behind  
digimon landed on the grass in front of Sora, Daisuke,  
Ken, and Miyako. Most of them were already in pajamas  
and had been trying to catch some Zs, but Joe, Izzy,  
Matt, and Kari were still dressed.  
  
"Ick, I've never been here in my nightgown before!"  
Mimi said. "Um, Izzy, can you get off my stomach?"  
  
Izzy blushed. "Sorry, Mimi."  
  
T.K. yawned and blinked. "What are we doing here?  
Better yet, how did we get here?"  
  
"The floor vanished," Iori said, face pale. "Somehow,  
the floor VANISHED!"  
  
"Oh, no," Tai groaned.  
  
"What?" Kari asked, feeling for bruises. "Ow!"  
  
"This is EXACTLY what happened when we came and went  
from Digiworld three years ago! We might be trapped  
here again!"  
  
"Trapped?" Daisuke asked, paling visibly.  
  
"Trapped?" Miyako echoed.  
  
"Oh, no, trapped in Digiworld in my pajamas," Mimi  
moaned. "Hi, Palmon."  
  
The children without theirs glumly greeted their  
digimon friends. They were stuck, point blank. Stuck  
in Digiworld with no way of going home again.  
  
"Could be worse," Gomamon said cheerfully. "You could  
be captured by the DarkDestined!"  
  
Joe tutted. "Like anything could be worse than missing  
the one day it isn't mandatory that I do my homework!"  
  
"Where'd the TV go?" Daisuke asked, looking around  
wildly. The portal home had disappeared. They really  
WERE trapped.  
  
"Oh, no," Tai moaned. "Oh, NO! We thought it was bad  
enough to come back when time was off! Who knows how  
long we'll be here, and now that time is in sync...now  
that we'll be missed...this just can't happen!"  
  
"Welcome, digidestined." The kids spun to see a  
hologram of Gennai. "I cannot put into words how glad  
I am that you have returned."  
  
"Don't use words, get us OUT!" Mimi said. "At least  
give me some proper clothes!"  
  
"Calm down, Mimi. So, you've already defeated a  
DarkDestined. I'm delighted. I watched the entire  
thing. From my sources I have discovered that your  
next challenge is Erek and Kodrimon."  
  
"Oh, no! Not the evil laugh!" Miyako groaned.  
  
"I'm afraid so. Then Asha, then Tashino, and last--if  
you get that far--Casia."  
  
"What makes you think we won't?" T.K. asked fiercely.  
  
"Oh, no, I only have time for two questions before I  
feed my fish." The image flickered. "Hurry up."  
  
"Who's KaliNa?"  
  
"What are the cards?"  
  
Gennai hesitated. "I do not myself know the answers to  
those questions. I'm sure you will find the answers in  
my library, though. Why don't you come?"  
  
"How do we get there?" Iori asked.  
  
"Follow the crest," Gennai said before vanishing.  
  
"Which crest?" Sora asked.  
  
Everyone looked at Ken, who automatically backed up a  
few paces.  
  
"Ken has a real crest," Agumon said. At that moment a  
purplish beam shot from the crest into the forest.  
  
"Let's go!"  
  
  
  
It was two hours later when Tai finally agreed to a  
break. The girls immediately threw themselves onto the  
ground and sighed. Tai marched around the clearing  
impatiently until Agumon suggested that they go get  
some food. Tai, Matt, Joe, Izzy, T.K., Daisuke, Iori,  
and all the digimon headed off into the forest.  
  
Mimi stretched her legs and sighed happily. "Now, this  
is the life I wanted in Digiworld!"  
  
"Sure," Ken said. The bright beam from the crest was  
beginning to hurt his eyes. He wished it would just  
quit glowing for the time being. As if reading his  
thoughts, it did.  
  
A shadow fell over the five digidestined. Miyako  
glanced up and screamed. She threw her arms over her  
head and dashed under a tree as a large bird swept  
down at her, talons gleaming.  
  
Ken flung himself recklessly in front of her and Mimi  
and cried out in pain as the digimon's sharp talons  
tore at him. Sora's voice said, "Raptorimon is a  
dangerous data digimon! Watch out, even though he  
doesn't often use his attacks, his talons are deadly!"  
  
Kari shrieked in horror as Ken slid limply to the  
ground, Raptorimon still slicing at his body. His face  
was already a mass of cuts, and the digimon didn't  
seem likely to give up very soon.  
  
Finally Raptorimon seemed to think he had hurt Ken  
enough. Leaving the boy on the ground, vision clouded  
by a red haze of pain, he whirled on Sora. He had  
barely torn her sleeve when he heard a soft gasping  
noise behind him.  
  
Ken was standing up, leaning heavily on a tree. His  
crest glowed brightly once more. "You--can't  
hurt--us!" he said brokenly as a brilliant beam shot  
from his crest. Raptorimon shrieked once and  
disintegrated just as the missing members of the team  
ran into the clearing.  
  
Tai gaped at his friends in confusion. Kari and Miyako  
were holding Ken up as he sagged against a tree,  
gasping for breath and bleeding profusely. Sora was  
nursing a scratch on her arm. Mimi sat on the ground,  
eyes wide. Wormmon dashed over to his digidestined.  
"Ken!"  
  
Matt turned to Gabumon. "Digivolve. You too, Patamon,  
Gatomon, and Hawkmon." In seconds MetalGarurumon,  
Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, and Halsemon stood before  
them. Tai and Matt helped Ken onto MetalGarurumon's  
back and took off in the direction of Gennai's house,  
everyone else following.  
  
  
  
"What happened?" Gennai asked as soon as the  
digidestined arrived. For a moment the children  
couldn't speak; Gennai had relocated, and now owned a  
giant mansion above ground.  
  
"We were attacked by Raptorimon, and he hurt Ken,"  
Sora said finally, nursing the scratch on her arm. "He  
needs help, and fast!"  
  
"Take him in there," Gennai said, waving toward a  
door. Tai and Matt carried a now unconscious Ken into  
the room, followed closely by Wormmon. Gennai frowned  
and then indicated another room. "Izzy, there's  
medical supplies in there." The boy ran into the room.  
Gennai then bent over Sora's arm. "You should get that  
attended to right away, it could get infected. Go get  
a bandage, same room Izzy went into." Sora darted down  
the hall.  
  
Gennai turned to the remaining digidestined children.  
"Follow me to the library."  
  
Everyone gasped when they entered a beautiful circular  
room lit by the gentle glow of lamps and rapidly  
darkening skylights. There were bookshelves everywhere  
except in the corner where two round tables sat end to  
end.  
  
"Choose one book each," Gennai said. He turned and  
left as the children began to browse. Matt, Tai, Izzy,  
and Sora soon joined them.  
  
"Hey!" Kari said soon after. "Look!" She held up a red  
book that looked very old. "Proverbs, Predictions, and  
Prophecies. I'm reading this one!"  
  
Tai walked over and inspected the books. "This shelf  
has some good ones! If Digiworld was a Game...If  
Digiworld was an Animal...If Digiworld was a  
Human...there's a whole series!"  
  
"Pick one," Sora suggested. Tai chose If Digiworld was  
a Game after much deliberation. Matt decided to read  
The Lives of the Digidestined Children in Colorful  
Detail. Mimi discovered Central Spots of Beauty in  
Digiworld. T.K. and Daisuke both unearthed copies of  
How to Find the Magic in Yourself and Others. Izzy  
held up a very worn book called A History of  
Digiworld. Joe found Medicinal Plants of Digiworld By  
Continent. Sora decided to read Digimon Profiles. Iori  
sat down to read Digi-Defense. Miyako was the last to  
find a book: Useful Tips on Surviving Should You  
Become Hopelessly Lost in the Digital World With No  
Clue What You Should Do. All the children found seats.  
Kari carefully opened her ancient book and began to  
read...


	9. The Downfall of the DarkDestined

Ken slowly opened his violet-blue eyes. They quickly  
narrowed as his brain registered that he felt no pain  
and that he felt very comfortable.  
  
~I feel like I'm in a dream,~ he thought. ~But my mind  
feels like I'm normal...but I can't see how it could  
be, when I was attacked by that weird 'mon...let's go  
find out about the others.~  
  
The boy swung his legs out of bed and stood up. He  
padded to the door and peered out. Yeah, this place  
was Digiworld, judging from the fountain with a  
Seadramon spouting water. He tiptoed down the hall and  
soon found a door ajar.  
  
Ken glanced into the room and felt his jaw drop. It  
was a library beyond his wildest dreams--gigantic,  
with thousands of books! Then he saw his friends  
spread out at several tables.  
  
"Hey, Daisuke, what's up?" he asked, hurrying to the  
leader's side. Daisuke and the others gave no sign  
that they heard the boy. He looked down at the book,  
which seemed almost to glow. "There is a magic in  
everyone," Ken read, "visible as a golden glow.  
Someone weak or dying will have a silver glimmer." He  
shook his head and moved to Kari's side. After looking  
through all the books and not getting a reaction from  
his fellow digidestined, Ken moved to the shelves.  
  
Then he woke up.  
  
His first impulse was to scream. It hurt, it hurt so  
bad! His head and side throbbed with a dull pain. His  
vision went dark, but then cleared.  
  
"Ken-chan, you're awake!"  
  
"Owwww, Wormmon," Ken replied. "I ache all  
over...where are we?"  
  
"Gennai's new house. Everyone else is either in the  
library or the training room."  
  
"The...library?" Ken shot out of bed and threw the  
door open. There was the Seadramon statue, spouting  
water. He nearly fell as his torn leg trembled, but he  
managed to hobble down the hall, his obedient digimon  
following.  
  
There was the library, just like in the dream.  
"Hullo?" he called. No reaction from the other  
children. "What's wrong with them, Wormmon?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Gennai appeared behind them. "Well, let's check it  
out, shall we?"  
  
Ken jumped. "Who the heck are you? Oh, wait, you must  
be Gennai. I remember hearing about you. You were the  
one who destroyed my--the Kaizer's--Spire in Sprite  
Lake, right?"  
  
"Yes, that was I. And you are the child who caused all  
this trouble in the first place, ne?"  
  
The youngster nodded. They walked into the library.  
Just as Ken bent over to turn the page in Daisuke's  
book, Gennai shouted, "Don't touch it!"  
  
"Why? They're just some harmless books."  
  
"Just some harmless books indeed! Each and every one  
of them chose from the same shelf, my magic shelf!  
Without the proper incantations, they become  
hypnotized!"  
  
"So what do we do?" Wormmon asked.  
  
"There is only one way to break the spell..."  
  
  
  
"Okay, Wormmon, let's review the instructions one more  
time...go to Sprite Lake."  
  
"Swim out to the middle or make a raft."  
  
"Go under approximately all the way to the bottom."  
  
"Battle Wendigomon. If you win she will give you the  
spell that can save them."  
  
"Use your friends' DigiMentals for digivolving." Ken  
sighed. "And, in his exact words, 'Stingmon isn't  
powerful enough, so you HAVE to go armor.' What if we  
can't use them? What if I need my own and we don't  
have it?"  
  
"Relax. Look, here's Sprite Lake now." The two stopped  
at the edge of the mist-covered lake. Ken shivered and  
gazed around.  
  
"Well, how do we get to the middle of the lake?"  
  
Wormmon shrugged--as much as a worm CAN shrug, that  
is. "How should I know?"  
  
Suddenly the fog around them swirled away, revealing a  
boat. Ken shrugged and climbed in. Wormmon jumped  
aboard just as the boat magically drifted out. Ken  
leaned over the side and peered anxiously into the  
water. Mist rose and stung his face. He shivered.  
Wendigomon...  
  
"Wendigo!" he said suddenly, startling Wormmon. "We're  
in trouble, Wormmon, really, really BIG trouble!"  
  
"Why, Ken?"  
  
"The Wendigo is an ancient Indian spirit. It  
supposedly comes with the wind and whisks you away to  
the heavens. It burns your feet off and then the rest  
of you! We can't battle the wind! We're going to lose,  
we're going to lose, we're going to--"  
  
"Get a hold of yourself!" Wormmon cried. A jolt rocked  
the boat. Ken nearly lost his balance as the canoe  
jerked to a stop.  
  
"Now what?"  
  
"Try using the Reliability DigiMental! That may work!"  
  
Ken pulled out Iori's digivice and DigiMental.  
"Digi-Armor Energize, Wormmon!"  
  
In a burst of grayish-blue light, the little green  
worm he knew so well vanished, crying, "Wormmon,  
armor-digivolve to...Archelomon! The Savior of the  
Seas!"  
  
Ken almost fell out of the boat as Archelomon--a  
turtle-like digimon--appeared. Something mask-like  
covered his face, presumably to help him breathe  
underwater. Ken gasped as the boat rocked.  
  
"Archel--WHOA!" The inevitable finally happened as the  
boat flung him out. Archelomon caught him, and they  
both dived.  
  
A sense of peace flooded through the boy as he  
realized that somehow he could now breathe underwater.  
He pulled away from Archelomon and grinned slightly at  
the mist-like rope that the angel had tied around his  
wrist to bind them. Apparently touching his digimon  
would help him to survive the upcoming battle.  
  
They soon reached the floor and entered an underwater  
cave. There was air near the top; Ken swam upwards and  
breathed normally again. "Archelomon!" he called.  
"That was amazing!"  
  
Something yanked at him. He was dragged under and  
along as Archelomon sped away. Finally they landed in  
a completely dry room. Archelomon dedigivolved. Ken  
broke the thread and put Iori's DigiMental away.  
  
"Keeeeeeeeeen," a whispery voice said.  
"Woooooooooooooormmon..."  
  
"Wendigomon," Ken said, plugging his ears and hooking  
a foot around Wormmon to hold him back. He frantically  
searched his mind for the DigiMental that would help.  
Knowledge was a ground element. Courage and Love were  
fire. Sincerity was grass. Friendship was ice...ICE!  
Daisuke's DigiMental was out in a flash, accompanied  
by the cry of "Digi-Armor Energize!"  
  
"Wormmon, armor-digivolve to...Togemogumon! The Ice of  
Friendship! Hail Machinegun!"  
  
The voice shrieked as hail plummeted from nowhere  
around the werewolfish digimon. Ken ducked behind his  
new digimon, hands over his head.  
  
"Wind Entrancement!"  
  
The sense of peace that had come from being able to  
breathe underwater returned. Ken swayed. He would  
follow Wendigomon wherever she went...she would help  
him...  
  
"Crystal Guard!" Togemogumon yelled. An icy wall shot  
up like a shield. Through it, Ken saw Wendigomon's  
real form--a wind-spirit, the source of the mist and  
fog that haunted Sprite Lake. He shook off her charm  
and got behind Togemogumon. Time for another change,  
one that she would never suspect...  
  
The DigiMental of Love was in Ken's hand in a second,  
and the next, a strange digimon stood where the  
werewolf had been moments ago. It had the wings of an  
owl and the talons of an eagle, with the body of a  
strong bird of prey. Ken shook his head. He had missed  
everything but this creature's name: Owlmon.  
  
"Midnight Clutch!" it screeched. Darkness streaked  
from its talons to surround Wendigomon. "Infra Red  
Ray!" Now a red beam shot from its eyes. Wendigomon  
screamed, writhing.  
  
"Wind Entrancement!"  
  
Ken tumbled backwards. His digivice glowed and  
shrieked. Suddenly the familiar purple light came out  
and hit the wind spirit. In the next instant, all was  
still.  
  
Ken picked up Wormmon, sticking the DigiMental back  
into his pocket. "Hey, Wendigomon! I want that spell  
for my friends!" he shouted.  
  
"I'm afraid dear Wendigomon won't be giving out any  
spells at this time," a voice said evilly. Erek and  
Kodrimon stepped from the shadows. "You appear to  
think that the DarkDestined, being human, would  
hesitate to kill. That is true with Casia, but not the  
rest of us!"  
  
Wormmon gasped and started to wriggle in Ken's arms.  
"We have to fight, Ken! We have--"  
  
Ken gently smacked his digimon on the head. "No. No,  
Wormmon. We can't win in this condition. It's just us,  
and you're worn out. One of us--" He cast a sideways  
glance at Erek-- "will have to surrender."  
  
Erek smirked. "It won't be me. I tried to tell Asha  
that she should come first, that her ArmorNodesumon is  
so much stronger than Kodri here. She refused. I used  
my amazing power over all digimon to attack Odaiba. I  
tried to make them kill you all. They failed and went  
back at dawn, as I had promised. The city rebuilt  
itself. No one had died. I used Raptorimon to injure  
you, trying to kill you. He turned on the girls. You  
did not die. I then stationed a spy at Gennai's place.  
He lured the others to those shelves. Wendigomon used  
him to entrance them. She must give out the spell if  
defeated. But I am smarter than her."  
  
Ken glared at Erek. "You only failed to murder us in  
Odaiba because of Casia!"  
  
"I know. She was getting back at Asha when she did  
that. Asha forced me to try first to kill you. Casia  
was mad."  
  
"And Raptorimon--and the others--" Ken could barely  
speak through his anger. "You--you DarkDestined will  
do anything to get rid of us!"  
  
"True, true." Erek snapped his fingers. "I've worked  
too hard to surrender. Kodrimon?"  
  
Ken fell to his knees. He had failed. The others would  
remain trapped forever while he--  
  
Multi-colored light washed over him and Wormmon. The  
small digimon perked up. Ken gazed up at Erek.  
  
"Too hard to surrender," he repeated. "So I'm turning  
traitor." He glanced around. "Three very important  
things you need to know, Ken."  
  
Kodrimon dedigivolved into Bakarumon. "One, the Shadow  
of Death resides in Myaketeigu Temple. You need to  
find it and destroy it. Only then will your journey be  
truly over."  
  
Erek helped Ken up. "Two is this--find Myatta and  
Teiru. They are also digidestined. You need them."  
  
They walked away. Erek's voice floated back to Ken.  
"And this is three--KaliNa will give you a wish for  
every key you find. Ask Kari where to find the keys.  
His book tells him."  
  
Suddenly a wind whirled around boy and digimon. The  
all-too-familiar peaceful feeling swept over both of  
them, and when they could see again, they were in the  
library.  
  
Kari yawned and closed Proverbs, Predictions, and  
Prophecies. "All some mumbo-jumbo about a shadow," she  
said, shelving the book. Sora and Mimi soon finished  
theirs. Miyako proclaimed hers boring and handed it to  
Iori to put away with his book. Eventually, each book  
was put away and the others were staring at Ken, who  
was pale and yet grinning brightly. He sank into a  
chair with a sigh.  
  
"What's that, Wormmon? Two down?"  
  
"Yup, that's two."  
  
"Wendigo, huh. In the Digiworld. Ent--uh-oh. Uh-oh."  
He jumped up. "GENNAI!"  
  
"You called?" the digital man asked, walking in.  
  
"There's a spy here! I--"  
  
Izzy had already pulled out his laptop. "Styricomon. A  
shadow-type digimon who serves as a gateway for other  
digimon's attacks. Used for spying purposes." He  
looked up at Ken. "Would you please explain--"  
  
"Pepper Breath!"  
  
Agumon had fired into a corner. A squeal accompanied a  
strange shadow out into the open. The shadow stretched  
into a flat disk and showed what looked like mist. Ken  
knew better. It was Wendigomon. He waved at her. She  
grinned. Styricomon exploded, showering the  
digidestined with a cold velvet-like material.  
  
Kari and Miyako sneezed. Iori and Sora shivered. "I  
don't like this," Tai muttered as the lights went out.  
Everyone grabbed at something in terror; someone  
screamed. Gennai gasped as a bright silver light  
filled the room, a woman in the center. She was young,  
no more than sixteen. She looked transparent. Her dark  
hair swept to her shoulders. Eyes gleaming in the dim  
light, she smoothed her dark purple dress. In the pale  
glow, the children moved closer together--all but Ken,  
who backed away, eyes wide in horror.  
  
"You brats are ruining everything!" the young woman  
said angrily as two other girls and three boys  
appeared before the digidestined.  
  
"Who--are you?" Izzy asked, his voice loud in the  
sudden silence.  
  
"We are the Wanderers, the Friends. If you prefer, the  
Confidants. You and this world would not exist if it  
wasn't for us." This was one of the males, eyes hard.  
He looked different from the others, transparent like  
the first girl. His hair and eyes were also dark, and  
he wore black pants and a medieval-looking blood red  
shirt. "I am Dai. This is Sinasha. We are no part of  
this. We created Earth. We made it like it is now--an  
evil, evil place. We tried to kill our fellow Friends.  
We were killed by the Dragon."  
  
Sinasha glared at the girls of the group. "I am your  
TRUE mother, you know. We made you and your world. You  
ought to bow, even if we ARE dead."  
  
"What on Earth--" Daisuke started to say. He stopped.  
"How--"  
  
Izzy sighed. "It was in my book--my history book of  
the Digital World. Dai and Sinasha DID create Earth.  
That boy--Augu--and the other girls, Myatta and  
Teiru--they created Digiworld to be a paradise.  
And--and Take--the last--"  
  
"I made Angel Land." His voice was cool and  
harmonious. Long blond hair swept to his waist. Deep  
blue eyes stared at them, mildly interested. He looked  
older than the others in white robes. "It was  
peaceful. Calakan never was."  
  
"You destroyed all the people of Calakan with your  
greed!" Izzy shouted. "You destroyed your own world!  
Then you, Dai, and you, Sinasha, ruined Earth and came  
after Augu, Myatta, and Teiru in Digiworld! They  
escaped to Earth, and Teiru created the crests and  
gave them to us when we were younger. We failed and  
were sent back, memories blanked, to Earth. Then you  
had to go and get yourselves killed, and Augu turned  
evil, and Take bitter, and now four worlds are in  
danger and it's all because of YOU!"  
  
Take grinned. "Know your facts, do you? Well, then.  
Tell me, Knowledge's Lightning, who waits in  
Myaketeigu?"  
  
Ken spoke up. "The Shadow of Death." He moaned. "You,  
Augu--you wait and watch for us. There is a reason you  
came to find us, isn't there?"  
  
Augu smiled as the other Friends disappeared. His red  
eyes glinted in the light radiating from him.  
"Perceptive brat. Look around." Everyone looked. The  
old digidestined were also gone. "Without them, you  
will never find Myaketeigu. Smile while you can,  
digidestined. Alizamon, Ai, and Erek were only the  
beginning." The lights came on as the Shadow of Death  
vanished.  
  
"Gatomon, I'm scared," Kari whispered as the six  
humans, six digimon, and Gennai slowly began to  
recover from the supernatural happening.  
  
"And you have every reason to be, Kari," Ken  
whispered, sinking into a chair. He rested his chin in  
his hands, eyes alight with half wonder, half fright.  
"I know two of them. Myatta and Teiru. Erek said  
they're digidestined." He slammed his fist down on the  
arm of the chair, nearly hitting Wormmon. "If we could  
get home we could find them, maybe. I have a GUESS as  
to their human forms, anyway. And Augu--the Shadow of  
Death. He's no pixie. This is very bad indeed."  
  
"Why?" T.K. asked, throat dry.  
  
Ken looked up. "Think about it. First, there was  
Alizamon. Then the DarkDestined. Now we have three  
more DarkDestined to deal with along with the Shadow,  
and two more digidestined to find. Why is all this  
happening now? Why not the first time--the very first  
time, when we failed and had our memories wiped? I  
read a book--an American book--and it said  
something..." He paused, then quoted as best he could,  
"'Something must have happened to start all this,  
something we don't know about that ties all this  
together.'" He glanced around at the others, who  
looked alternately terrified or thoughtful. "The  
question is, What?"  
  
  
  
Four long weeks later, the digidestined paced the  
floors of Alizamon's dungeons. Long walks and long  
battles had led them here. Iori bit his lip. They had  
finally beaten Asha--after killing Nodesumon and  
almost losing their own lives, of course. She had  
surrendered in shock. But they were still here. Rob  
had appeared not long ago and announced that Tashino  
and Casia were not very happy with the loss of the  
other three DarkDestined. He had left again. And, for  
the millionth time in only one month, the six chosen  
children were pondering the event that might have  
started everything.  
  
"Dai and Sinasha's deaths?"  
  
"Uh-uh. Rob said they died before our time, remember?"  
  
"Umm...how about...Ken joining us?"  
  
"Can't be."  
  
"And why not?"  
  
"B'cause 'Lizamon was mean a few days after that. What  
happened right before she appeared?"  
  
"We were destroying Spires. But we did that all  
along!"  
  
"You're right...Casia?"  
  
"What ABOUT Casia?"  
  
"Didn't she come to the Digiworld about then?"  
  
And so it continued. Hour after hour, the children  
wandered the ruins, thinking harder than they had ever  
thought before, about each of the DarkDestined, about  
Alizamon, the cards, Rob, anything that was possible.  
Always they returned to the same subject--Myaketeigu.  
Where was it? What waited for them there? How would  
they get there?  
  
Finally, the digimon left their human friends and  
walked into the forest. "I don't think that I  
understand what we're talking about anymore," Hawkmon  
muttered, picking a few berries.  
  
"They're going crazy," Veemon said worriedly. "Without  
someone to fight at the moment, they talk themselves  
out. If we could just find out what started this  
all..."  
  
"We'll never do it. Never. Too many possibilities."  
Patamon was not his normal self--cheerful and ready to  
help out. "Somehow we have to find out what happened,  
but how?"  
  
"Isn't a way." Gatomon purred slightly. "The--"  
  
"Shhhhhhh!" someone hissed. Armadillomon yelped as  
something coiled around his neck. Hands grabbed Veemon  
and Gatomon and yanked them back. "You mustn't be  
seen! You'll ruin everything!"  
  
"Cass--"  
  
"Hush-a!" The dark-haired girl wrapped her fingers  
around Wormmon's mouth and pressed down. "Mustn't be  
seen or heard..."  
  
She looked different from the lively girl they had  
first met. Her long hair was tangled and dirty. Her  
thin, pale cheeks were streaked with sweat, blood, and  
dirt. Brown eyes alert, she pulled back, drawing the  
six digimon farther into the undergrowth. Her black  
dress was ripped, feet bare. She gasped and ducked  
down, breathing hard.  
  
"What's happened to you?" Wormmon asked as she moved  
her hand.  
  
"I ran--away. A week ago. I can--get you--home, but  
you have--to trust--me." Her voice was harsh and low.  
"Ta--Tashino's c-coming. Keep still. Can't be seen, or  
it won't work..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Got a way--to beat him--without bloodshed. Army  
of--Chingomon--keep still--" She sank lower.  
  
"Why, Casia?"  
  
"The--Shadow of Death--must be stopped--before  
you--all of you--two have to survive--Ken-chan and  
Matt--got to save them." She moaned. "Everything--the  
Balance--we have to unite or all--all four  
worlds--Calakan--the Dragon--"  
  
As she continued in this incoherent fashion, the  
digimon found themselves looking back at Alizamon's  
former palace. A black light shimmered over it. "He's  
coming," Patamon murmured. Chieko hissed her agreement  
as Hitokomon's lightning flashed. A storm of Chingomon  
raced from the path to their left, where all six  
digimon had been moments before.  
  
Screams and frantic shouts erupted from the ruins. In  
seconds, five armor digimon raced into battle. Wormmon  
struggled, but found himself rendered helpless by  
Casia.  
  
"Ca--"  
  
"Shh!" She crawled on her belly. "Destruction. Save  
your strength, or--we will all be killed--"  
  
Back at the palace, the six digidestined ran out of  
the ruins, eyes wide as hundreds upon hundreds of  
Chingomon swept down on them, multi-colored wings  
flashing in the sunlight. As attacks from the armor  
digimon hit them, they swirled together in a cloud,  
voices shrieking their attacks. Miyako heard one from  
Antonymon just as a green light shot from one  
evil-looking male Chingomon and blasted away the  
ground beneath her feet. Daisuke grabbed her arm and  
yanked her up as an Electric Comet Punch from  
Hitokomon smashed Flamedramon to the ground.  
  
"Pathetic, digidestined," a voice said smugly. They  
turned to see Tashino, smirking at them as chaos raged  
behind him. "You're going to lose without  
your--er--FRIENDS."  
  
Kari saw, out of the corner of her eye, two small  
figures creeping out of the woods. One was Wormmon,  
who tangled one incredibly powerful Chingomon in a  
web. The other was Casia.  
  
Tashino continued to taunt them. Finally, Ken lost it  
and swung forward to smack the tormenter. But Casia  
got there first--  
  
"You are a lying bastard!" she shrieked as the wind  
picked up. "I wish you were never my cousin! You're on  
your own now, Tashino!"  
  
The boy gasped. Suddenly he whirled on her and hit her  
as hard as he possibly could. Her head snapped to the  
side from the blow. She cried out in pain as he kicked  
her legs out from under her.  
  
"Traitors don't deserve to live!"  
  
"Stop it!" Iori cried. "We can't afford this--we have  
to get out of here--"  
  
All eight humans looked up, regardless of their  
position. The sky was black and filled with battling  
digimon. Tashino scowled at it and then called,  
"Wendigomon! Do as I command!"  
  
"Wind Entrancement!"  
  
The blast that hit the digidestined and Casia made  
their heads reel. As one they collapsed--all but T.K.  
He curled his hands into fists and fought the  
enchantment.  
  
Three Chingomon swept down and hit him. He stumbled  
sideways and fell. Kari, Ken, and Daisuke shook off  
the enchantment as well and tried to stand. Daisuke  
took two steps forward and punched Tashino. However,  
Ken and Kari fell to their knees, crying out  
desperately.  
  
"The Dark Ocean..."  
  
"Fight it, Kari!" T.K. gasped, kicking upwards and  
hitting one Chingomon in the gut.  
  
Casia's legs trembled as she stood. "Chieko, NO!" she  
yelled.  
  
Heads snapped up as the small snake flung herself onto  
Hitokomon's back. Casia gasped and then hit Tashino  
angrily. "This is your fault! She'll never make it! I  
hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!" Something glowed  
beneath her robes. Something silcwe...  
  
Light flowed from underneath her shirt. She gasped and  
fell backwards, eyes wide. The aura grew. Suddenly  
light came from Ken's crest. The beams shot together  
and swirled, then became a pillar of fire.  
  
For a moment, everything was deathly quiet.  
  
Then chaos struck.  
  
The Chingomon vanished as the digidestined digimon  
shrank to their rookie forms. Hitokomon broke away  
from Chieko as he glowed, then exploded. Chieko fell,  
landing on a sudden wisp of mist. Ken raised his head  
and whispered, "Wendigomon." Tashino jumped away from  
the pillar of fire, which shimmered. A crest floated  
out from under Casia's shirt and gleamed. She stared  
in shock as it twisted and turned light gold. The  
symbol had changed. Gold and violet spun together. The  
pillar burst wide, showering all with sparks. Tashino  
yelled something incoherent before the fire swallowed  
him alive.  
  
"We killed a human," Miyako said after a moment of  
horrified silence.


	10. A Light in the Dark

Ken leaned against his balcony, staring out at the  
beautiful sunset. He sighed and took out his card. For  
the last few days, the digidestined had questioned  
everything as their parents marveled that their  
children were alive and well. Izzy brought up a copy  
of 'A History of the Digiworld' on his computer the  
first time they all got together and showed them the  
part about their first Digiworld trip. One of multiple  
questions inspired by this revelation was Ken's--how  
did this first trip connect with everything else? He  
sighed and leaned farther out.  
  
"Ken! Acacia is here!"  
  
Casia walked out onto the balcony and paused beside  
him, looking out herself. After a moment she turned  
her bright amber eyes on him. "I keep thinking about  
the cards."  
  
Ken glanced at his own. "Why?"  
  
"If I'm a digidestined, why haven't I got one? And  
Myatta and Teiru?"  
  
He shrugged. "You created them."  
  
"KaliNa did."  
  
"Who is she?"  
  
Casia turned and leaned on the balcony as Ken walked  
toward the house. "KaliNa is a powerful sorceress. I  
believe she may have been originally from Calakan. She  
grants wishes to those who please her. Wish rods. The  
cards are from my wish rod."  
  
Ken sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair.  
"Cass, about your crest. What does it mean?"  
  
She looked down at the symbol--a crescent moon. "No  
clue. K'chan, any ideas about yours?"  
  
He shook his head.  
  
The two eleven-year-olds looked at the city until the  
first star appeared. Then Casia left. Ken watched her  
pass beneath a street lamp and vanish into the  
darkness. He still saw her, due to the glow on her  
crest--the glow that was always there at night. A  
light in the dark.  
  
Just like she was.  
  
  
  
The next day, Ken entered his classroom and sat down.  
Most of his classmates regarded him as very strange,  
mostly due to the fact that he disappeared, stayed  
away for months, came back, disappeared again within a  
week, and appeared a month later--and was still the  
smartest kid in class! Ken sighed and took his seat in  
the corner. He slumped forward and took out his card,  
which, oddly, had begun to glow. It split in two just  
as Mr. Yamizaki, the teacher, said, "Please welcome  
our new student."  
  
Ken didn't look up. In his right hand he held the  
purple card. In his left was a gold one. Casia's card.  
  
"Acacia, take a seat beside Ken Ichijouji."  
  
"Casia, sir. Just Casia." Ken glanced up and stared.  
Casia waved as she sat in the desk next to his. She  
looked strange in a Tamachi uniform, long hair tied  
into a half-bun with the rest hanging down her back.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Ken hissed when the bell  
rang. The next class wouldn't begin for three minutes.  
  
"My aunt--you know, Tashino's mother--suggested it to  
my mother while I was at your house yesterday. They  
transferred me."  
  
Ken handed her the card as he explained in whispers  
where it had come from. Suddenly it was snatched from  
her hand.  
  
"What have we here?" a voice said. The two looked up  
at three tall girls. "New kid's got a boyfriend, has  
she, and he's givin' her a late Valentine's Day  
present?"  
  
As Casia blushed, Ken jumped up. "Leave Cass alone,  
Hana."  
  
"And who's goin' to make me?" she asked. "You?"  
  
"Sure," Ken said as the bell rang. Hana and her  
cronies took their seats, muttering curses at the  
bell.  
  
"Recess," Hana said. "Back of the school. Be there."  
  
"I don't like this," Casia muttered as they waited for  
their enemies later that day. "My mother will kill  
me."  
  
Ken shrugged. "She won't blame you. Everyone's parents  
hate Hana and company. Mine do, ever since Osamu got  
into a fight with her when she was seven and he was  
nine. She flattened him."  
  
"Osamu? Who's that?"  
  
Ken's blue-violet eyes widened. "Nobody."  
  
Something hit him in the back of the head. He whirled  
on Hana and her two friends. "Not on the alert, are  
we, Ichijouji?" Hana asked, smirking. She raised a  
fist. "Give me the gold thing, or I kill you."  
  
"You have it," Casia said quietly. She straightened,  
eyes glinting. "Not a DarkDestined for nothing," she  
murmured softly, placing her feet just so.  
  
"No, it's gone, and YOU took it on break," Hana said.  
She punched at Ken, who ducked and kicked. He missed,  
but had the sense to roll out of the way.  
  
"Leave Ken alone," a musical voice said. "We've got  
it."  
  
Casia and Ken looked at the two girls at the front of  
the gathering crowd. One had flowing, wavy red hair  
and bright blue eyes. She grinned. In a biker's  
leather jacket she wouldn't have been as out-of-place  
as she looked in a Tamachi uniform. Beside her,  
another girl held up the gold card. Her hair was the  
same, although her eyes were clouded.  
  
"They're twins?"  
  
"Yes. Asiko--we just call her Siko--has the card.  
Akira, or Kyra, is the--the--"  
  
"Biker chick."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Siko grinned. "Down, Emi." The tall girl gasped and  
lowered her hand. She had been about to hit Casia from  
behind. Hana darted forward, only to trip over a  
well-placed foot.  
  
"Your fight is with us," Casia murmured. "Not them."  
  
Ken was livid. "You are unworthy of Tamachi," he  
growled. "Attacking Siko--you're nothing but a bully!  
She's blind, for the sake of all that is good in the  
worlds!"  
  
"Worlds?" Hana said incredulously. Casia tore her mind  
off of the fact that Siko was blind and onto the one  
that said that Ken had just made a fatal error.  
  
"Yes, Earth, Ang--uh-oh." Ken stepped back. "Uh-oh,  
Cass."  
  
Casia gasped as her card glowed from where Siko held  
it. Kyra shrieked and took two large steps backwards.  
Casia dove forward and snatched the card from Siko. It  
screeched, the wail piercing in the sudden silence.  
  
Suddenly, it stopped. Ken sighed in relief before  
kicking Hana. "Leave us alone," he said quietly. "You  
really don't want to meet Stingmon and Chieko." He  
turned to Casia, Siko, and Kyra. "Show's over, folks.  
Come on, guys. Let's go."  
  
Eating lunch under a cherry tree, Ken and Casia  
explained the cause of the fight to Siko and Kyra. "Do  
you recognize the name Calakan?" Ken asked after a  
moment of silence.  
  
"Calakan?" Kyra asked. "No, not at all." She brushed  
her hair back. "Why?"  
  
"They aren't Myatta and Teiru," Casia whispered. The  
four enjoyed a simple chat for the rest of the lunch  
period, then returned to classes.  
  
  
  
Three uneventful weeks later, a feeling of impending  
doom settled on the city. Clouds rolled across the  
sun. Walking to school through a depressing drizzle,  
Ken and Casia met Kari and T.K. heading in the  
opposite direction.  
  
"Having fun at Tamachi, Cass?" T.K. asked pleasantly.  
  
"Yes," she said happily. "Tamachi is wonderful. People  
notice me. Hana, though that's not good. Ken. Siko and  
Kyra." She sighed. "I wish there was a chance, any  
chance, that they were Myatta and Teiru. It would be  
fun working alongside them."  
  
Kari sighed. "Too bad. We've been looking. There's  
always our school..."  
  
The four continued in their respective directions.  
Thunder boomed after a flash of lightning. Casia  
stopped dead.  
  
"Storm brewing, Ken." She glanced at him. "Odaiba  
Elementary is closer, you know."  
  
"Let's go!"  
  
Mr. Yamizaki didn't mind at all when they called to  
say why they weren't going to be late. Several people  
had headed to Odaiba Elementary--among them Siko,  
Kyra, and Hana.  
  
"We're in trouble," Ken muttered as he turned from the  
phone. The lights went off above them. "We're stuck  
till our parents can get here. Hana, Siko, and Kyra  
are all here."  
  
"I saw Hana," Casia said. "But not Siko and Kyra.  
Where are they?"  
  
After all seven of the younger digidestined joined in  
the search, there was still no sign of the twins.  
Miyako swung into the computer seat and tapped into  
the Digiworld files. "They didn't accidentally fall in  
here," she reported.  
  
Casia grabbed Ken's arm. "What if they called from a  
pay phone and something happened to them on the way  
here?"  
  
Three minutes later, seven figures in raincoats ran  
from the school.  
  
They searched the main path between Odaiba and  
Tamachi, with no sign of the missing girls. Thunder  
crashed constantly. Dark clouds blotted out any light  
as water poured from above. Everyone looked worried  
when they finally met in front of Tamachi.  
  
"They live right near me. No way could they be  
anywhere but between here and Odaiba," Casia shouted.  
Her amber eyes reflected the light of the lightning.  
In the dark pauses between each flash, the others  
could still see her eyes, which, oddly, glowed like a  
cat's. Nothing else was easy to see through the  
constant sheet of rain.  
  
Suddenly someone crashed into Daisuke. "Didn't see you  
there!" a familiar musical voice shouted. "Siko, we  
found someone!"  
  
Kyra led her twin sister into the circle of  
digidestined. "We got lost in the rain!" she yelled.  
"Quick--inside--"  
  
However, even as the two stumbled into Tamachi  
Elementary, lightning cracked the sky. Multi-colored  
light flashed. Casia looked up with those terrifying  
eyes of hers and said something that was drowned out  
in a boom of thunder.  
  
When Kyra and Siko looked outside, the digidestined  
had vanished.  
  
  
  
Seven soaked figures tumbled into Gennai's entrance  
hall. He grinned slightly. "Back so soon,  
digidestined?"  
  
"It's been a month, Gennai," Miyako panted, throwing  
the hood of her raincoat back. Iori yanked his off as  
the others caught their breath.  
  
"Yes, but I was afraid I would never see you again."  
He regarded them with his very slightly open eyes.  
"You see, there is a prophecy, that the Shadow will  
descend on the destined ones and leave but two." He  
peered at them all. "Those two meaning Myatta and  
Teiru, I would guess. They are immortals in mortals'  
bodies."  
  
"You mean we're all going to die?" Daisuke asked into  
a sudden silence.  
  
"Most likely. Get back, then. And whatever you do--be  
careful!"


	11. Never See Tomorrow

The next nights were terrible. Ken had a party line on  
his telephone, so all thirteen would talk for hours on  
end, running up a phone bill but being sure that mad  
ax-men weren't sneaking up on their friends. One night  
was the worst. Tai and Matt were out riding, Casia's  
parents had banned her from the phone, and Miyako was  
visiting relatives in Tokyo, so the others fidgeted  
and hoped for the best.  
  
The best failed to come.  
  
Daisuke had just hung up on the others when he heard  
Jun call to him from the living room. He walked in and  
said irritably, "What?"  
  
"Who were you talking to--again?"  
  
Daisuke was no longer listening. He was watching the  
news. And the news was not good.  
  
"Two teenage boys were hit by a drunk driver today.  
Both are in intensive care at Odaiba Memorial  
Hospital. Meanwhile, the river--"  
  
Daisuke jumped forward and hit the screen. "Tell me  
who they were!" he yelled desperately. He didn't care  
that a girl had nearly drowned in the river--it wasn't  
Sora, Mimi, Kari, or Miyako, he knew that. He shook  
the screen. "You stupid reporters!"  
  
Jun stared at him as he snatched up the phone. Before  
he could even press "Talk" and dial Kari's number, it  
rang. He pressed the button and said, breathlessly,  
"Hello?"  
  
"Daisuke?"  
  
"Kari?"  
  
"What?"  
  
All but Casia were there, even Miyako, who was home  
early, and all confused. T.K. finally managed to say,  
"It WAS them."  
  
No one had to say who "them" was.  
  
Daisuke turned the phone off, grabbed a coat, and flew  
out the door, with a hurried explanation to Jun. She  
stared after him as he grabbed his bike and rode off  
toward the hospital.  
  
Everyone was very relieved to see the rest there and  
in one piece. Even Casia had come. Apparently, she had  
seen the news report, put two and two together, called  
the others without regard for her grounding, and come  
straight here. Kari and T.K. were hugging each other  
in shock. Sora was crying quietly. All eleven  
digidestined followed a nurse into the hospital room.  
  
Matt was awake, though Tai was in a coma. He was  
shocked to see his friends. Ken had run all the way to  
Odaiba Memorial in a sudden downpour and was soaked  
through. The others had fared better, although Casia's  
hair was tangled and Joe was still hopping up and  
down, trying to put on his shoe. Matt laughed weakly.  
"You look like you dropped everything."  
  
T.K. wiped his eyes and blushed. "Mom said she would  
take me. I dropped the phone," he confessed.  
  
Daisuke grinned. "I hit the TV."  
  
Mimi giggled a little. "I dropped the key to my hotel  
room in the hot tub and almost forgot it."  
  
The digidestined stopped smiling then and looked at  
Tai. His heart rate was dangerously slow. "There's no  
way he'll make it," Casia whispered. Suddenly she  
collapsed, burying her face in her hands. "I hate  
choices like this..."  
  
Kari dropped to her knees. "Choices like what?"  
  
Casia looked up at the watching digidestined. She  
pointed to her belt, which no one had noticed was  
really Chieko. "The prophecy must come true. But  
Chieko has the power to save his life." She looked  
down again.  
  
Sora, Kari, Izzy, Daisuke, and Iori moved closer to  
Tai's bed. Daisuke gulped. "I don't care about a  
prophecy. Tai's more of a leader than me. Bring him  
back to us."  
  
Chieko uncoiled from her master's waist, hissed, and  
slid back into place.  
  
"She says no," Casia said in wonder. "She says that I  
am a DarkDestined and that she will not help you. She  
says Tai is not destined to live."  
  
"Destiny! Who cares!" Kari cried. "Please, please help  
my brother!"  
  
No one made a reply. They were not very surprised  
when, less than twenty minutes later, Tai's heart  
monitor went flat. The girls started to cry, as did  
several others. Ken paled and then sank to the floor,  
head in his hands. "Just like my 'niichan," he  
murmured.  
  
"You DO have a brother, then," T.K. said, brushing  
more tears from his face.  
  
Ken hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. I did." He glanced  
down. "His name was Osamu. He was two years older than  
I was. It started when I was seven. He was nine.  
  
"We were playing one day when we found a little blue  
device, a digivice. It was mine. Osamu didn't know  
that. He put it in a drawer and ordered me never to  
touch it. Then he went to soccer practice. He was a  
wonderful soccer player. He was perfect. Our parents  
ignored me and made him their pet. I hated the  
attention and resented him for it. I disobeyed him. I  
got out the digivice. It took me to the Digiworld. I  
met Wormmon. We had a great day. Then I returned home  
and told my oniichan all about it. He hit me and said  
I was a very bad child. He put the digivice back in  
the drawer and locked it with a key. He put the key on  
a shelf I couldn't reach.  
  
"Then came the tragedy...  
  
  
**Two and a half years ago** Ken hopped onto his  
parents' bed and looked out the window. Osamu was  
going to Aisha's house, but he had chosen to stay and  
wait for Taro, his best friend, to get home from  
vacation. It was a foggy day. The seven-year-old  
squinted at Taro's house. He had news. They were  
moving--not far, but just closer to Tamachi  
Elementary. Into an apartment complex that allowed  
pets. It was wonderful because now Ken would have his  
own room. He had promised to show Taro the Digiworld  
and was planning to do so tonight while Osamu was  
working on the project at Aisha's house.  
  
"He won't come if you watch for him, dear," Mrs.  
Ichijouji said, appearing in the doorway. "Go to  
Aisha's with your brother, go on..."  
  
Sighing, the boy jumped off the bed and ran to catch  
his brother. He climbed onto his own small bike and  
rode after the elder.  
  
Aisha lived on a country road. No cars came, so the  
two daring brothers whisked back and forth. Ken fell  
and scratched his knee. As he stood, he heard a  
distant roar--a motor. He tried to yell, but something  
blocked his throat. He saw the truck smash into his  
brother's bike and send boy and cycle into the curb.  
  
**Present day** Ken was crying now. "They said that  
it was instant death. He didn't suffer. But I felt  
that it was my fault. I still didn't get the attention  
I craved; my parents were mourning.  
  
"So I got the key.  
  
"I was aiming for Digiworld, but I landed in a  
terrible place called the Dark Ocean. I put the  
digivice in the water. It turned into a new kind, a  
dark kind. I didn't want it. I destroyed it. Later I  
recreated it. It would have been better if I had never  
gotten that email, the one that told me my destiny was  
in the ocean. But I did. I became the Digimon Kaizer  
and invented Dark Rings. At home, I tried to be who my  
parents wanted me to be--my brother. That got harder  
as I got deeper into my new role.  
  
"Wormmon joined me in my quest. He was willing. Him  
and Taro. Taro was the only one who knew my secret. He  
hated what I was becoming. I never took him back, but  
rather used him as my excuse whenever I had to go to  
Digiworld. He hated it. But he was willing."  
  
Ken looked up at his startled friends. "Everyone I  
love leaves me. My brother, Wormmon, Tai...everyone  
important in my life dies. Taro is dead as well, did  
you know that? He drowned in the river after a  
rainstorm a year ago. Before you all showed up in  
Digiworld."  
  
"We're so sorry," Kari whispered.  
  
Casia sighed, looking around. "The doctors will be  
here in a minute. Let's go."  
  
As they left, tears on all faces now, she whispered to  
Chieko, "And so the prophecy begins, my friend. But  
now the question is, how will it end?"  
  
  
  
The next two days were terrible. Sora was the second  
to die, tumbling down the hard cement steps to the  
basement of Odaiba High School. Barely had word gotten  
to all the digidestined than Miyako called them on the  
party line, which they were now using more than  
before, with the news that Iori was in a coma after  
being smacked in the head by a kendo stick. The next  
day brought news that he had passed away in the night.  
With the deaths of their partners, Biyomon, Upamon,  
and Agumon had been deleted and were not in Primary  
Village.  
  
Meanwhile, Casia switched seats with Hana and ignored  
Ken, hanging out with Siko and Kyra instead. She  
visited the Digiworld every day now, the digimon  
reported. She didn't seek them out. She stayed near  
Gennai's library or Alizamon's old palace. She now  
felt the pain of Tashino's death in full, they said,  
and had said coldly to Gabumon that she was not a  
digidestined. It was painfully obvious to Ken that she  
was falling away from her new friends in her grief and  
that she would not be on the party line anymore.  
  
Mimi was the next to go. Her plane back to America  
crashed, killing all passengers, crew, and the pilot.  
Then came Joe, who was involved in a drive-by shooting  
at a restaurant downtown. The sixth digidestined to  
die was Izzy, who caught pneumonia and went into a  
coma at the hospital, never to wake up.  
  
As the digidestined dropped like flies, it continued  
raining. There were flood warnings in the upper city  
now. Ken passed Casia, whose eyes now regarded him  
coldly when they met, on his way to school. He  
couldn't help but miss her as she hurried past,  
wrapped in a raincoat.  
  
Finally the inevitable happened. T.K. called, voice  
shaking, to report that several girls had drowned that  
night, playing by the river. Two of the girls in the  
group were Kari and Miyako. Kari had escaped. Miyako  
had not.  
  
The river still took its toll on Kari, though. She  
caught a cold and soon had a fever. They put her into  
Odaiba Memorial. The remaining digidestined--T.K.,  
Matt, Daisuke, and Ken--were all there the night life  
fled her body.  
  
Daisuke was half asleep when he remembered his  
book--How to Find the Magic in Yourself and Others. He  
looked at Kari through slitted eyes. She glowed  
silver, and the light was fading fast.  
  
"T.J.!" he shouted, leaping forward. Both boys grabbed  
a lingering strand of life in their best friend,  
wrapping it around her physical body and diving after  
her. They seemed to forget that they were enemies as  
they shot after her.  
  
Kari was standing at the edge of a giant black ocean.  
T.K. gasped in remembrance. "The Dark Ocean," he  
whispered.  
  
She whirled. "What are you two doing? Go back, there's  
nothing you can do for me now. Don't sacrifice  
yourselves!"  
  
"Fine." Daisuke opened his mouth to say something to  
T.K., but then grinned when he saw the boy gather up  
silver and gold strands and start to slice through  
them with a pocket knife.  
  
Kari sighed, then smiled. "Just as well. I would have  
missed you."  
  
As the final strands broke, Daisuke said, "Good one,  
T.K."  
  
"Thanks...for remembering my name."  
  
Back in the hospital, all three forms collapsed. Ken  
and Matt looked at each other.  
  
"We're the last," Ken whispered. He checked his watch.  
"Gotta go, it's time for school. I can't afford to be  
late. Watch your back."  
  
"And you watch yours," Matt managed to say, watching  
his brother for any sign of life. Both boys turned and  
left, tears glistening on both faces.  
  
As Ken slid into his seat, he realized that several  
girls were missing, among them Casia, Siko, Kyra,  
Hana, and her best friends, Emi and Chantal. Ken  
glanced around as the bell rang. Two girls darted into  
the room--Chantal and Hana. Their eyes were red. As  
Hana slid into her seat, she said fiercely, "Shut your  
yap."  
  
Mr. Yamizaki stepped to the front of the room. "Class,  
I am sad to say that five girls will not be joining us  
do to very unfortunate events. They are Emi Ikura, Oda  
Kasahara, Asiko and Akira Okiayu, and Acacia  
Kaminara." Suddenly Ken couldn't breathe properly.  
"They were playing by the river with a few public  
school girls and some of our own--" The teacher shot a  
look at Hana and Chantal-- "and therefore are staying  
home." Ken felt better. "However, it is my sad duty to  
inform you that Emi and possibly Acacia will not be  
joining us again." He turned to the board, not  
noticing that Hana and Chantal had dissolved in tears  
and Ken had slumped forward, burying his face in his  
arms.  
  
"What do you mean by 'possibly Casia'?" he asked  
immediately after the bell rang.  
  
Mr. Yamizaki sighed. "Apparently, Miyako Inoue and Emi  
fell in. Acacia dove in after them, and Asiko and  
Akira slipped and fell. Miyako and Emi didn't make it.  
Hana and Chantal were able to say that Hikari Kamiya  
pulled Acacia out, but she seems to have just  
disappeared in a flash of gold."  
  
"A light in the dark," Ken said under his breath. "Mr.  
Yamizaki, I know exactly where she is. May I be  
excused from lessons?"  
  
The teacher looked puzzled. "Of course, Ken. But--"  
  
His question came too late. As soon as the words "of  
course" had passed his lips, Ken had run from the  
room.  
  
  
  
  
"Casia!"  
  
"Casia!"   
  
"Casia!"  
  
"Casia!"  
  
Matt, Ken, Wormmon, and Gabumon called and called, but  
there was no sign of their friend. "Alizamon's place,  
then," Matt said, looking back at Gennai's mansion.  
Gabumon warp-digivolved to MetalGarurumon and took the  
two humans and small digimon to the ruins of the black  
palace.  
  
Only they weren't ruins anymore.  
  
Someone had rebuilt the palace in the absence of the  
digidestined. That someone was revealed almost  
immediately as a teenage girl flew out of the door,  
brown eyes glinting evilly, dark red hair swaying in a  
sudden breeze. Her green clothing flapped around her  
thin figure as her scarlet wings beat the air. "You  
digi-brats thought you could destroy Alizamon, queen  
of the Chingomon?" As more human-like digimon swooped  
out of the door, she screamed, "Attack!"  
  
"Rob Dynamite Blast!"  
  
"Ai Marina Beam!"  
  
"Aurora Flood!"  
  
The digidestined turned to see three Chingomon. Two  
were familiar; Ai, with her blue-streaked hair, and  
Rob. The other was new, a young girl with light brown  
hair and sparkling blue-violet eyes. She waved to Ken,  
pale green wings holding her up.  
  
"We're going to help you!" Ai called. She nodded at  
the new Chingomon. "This is Aurora!"  
  
As Stingmon, MetalGarurumon, Ai, Rob, and Aurora took  
on the endless flow of evil Chingomon, Ken and Matt  
found themselves face-to-face with a grinning  
Alizamon. "You'll never win," she taunted. "Little  
Casia is my prisoner; she's not here to jump in the  
way again. Ichijouji, since you did not cooperate the  
first time, I will make you now." She raised her arms.  
"Alizamon Beam!"  
  
Ken dropped and rolled. The beam shot after him. He  
cringed and jumped up and over it. It acted like a  
boomerang, twisting through the air. "Let Casia go!"  
he managed to yell as he dove away from the indigo  
beam.  
  
"Forget it!"  
  
Ken tripped over a loose rock and fell forward. He  
closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable...  
  
...which did not come.  
  
There was a scream of pain and something hit his head.  
When he opened his eyes, everything spun. So he closed  
them and blacked out.  
  
When he woke up ten minutes later, everything was  
quiet, except for a very strange sound. He opened his  
eyes and moaned, feeling tears welling up. "Oh, Matt,  
you stupid idiot," he murmured, rolling to his knees  
and letting the tears fall.  
  
Matt had taken the blow for his friend, and now lay  
absolutely still. Ken rocked back and forth on his  
heels, realizing that the sound was Wormmon's  
desperate cries. MetalGarurumon had vanished, as had  
all the Chingomon but Rob, Ai, and Aurora.  
  
"We won," Wormmon said despondently. "Aurora killed  
Alizamon for us. The Chingomon ran. But in a way, we  
lost."  
  
Ai stepped forward, blond hair swaying in the gentle  
wind. "We're so sorry," she whispered. "I was reborn  
just when Kari died. I decided to help you. I trained  
so fast and brought my tiny army..."  
  
Rob sighed. "Now the worlds will never survive. There  
are not enough digidestined left." He spread his wings  
and took to the sky, as did Ai. Aurora watched them,  
then turned to the only remaining digidestined.  
  
"I will always be ready to help you, Ken," she said  
softly. "The name's Aurora. Don't forget it. Alizamon  
will be back, but we can beat her."  
  
"One digidestined can't do nothing," Ken muttered,  
forgetting years of grammar lessons.  
  
Aurora flew off, leaving him and Wormmon alone.  
  
"There's no one left but me," Ken whispered.  
  
"That's where you're wrong, K'chan."  
  
Never before had Ken been more grateful to Casia for  
being there, black hair in its usual braid, brown eyes  
shining. She threw her arms around the shocked boy. "I  
must be a digidestined," she said. "I have to be." She  
looked up at him and let go. "We're the last ones,  
Ken. The four of us." Chieko uncurled slightly from  
her position around Casia's waist and hissed  
agreement.  
  
"How do we get to Myaketeigu?" Ken asked.  
  
She laughed. "A wish rod, of course. No one, human or  
digimon, can find Myaketeigu in their lifetime."  
  
"We haven't got a wish rod."  
  
She brought out a long rod with wings colored many  
shades of purple. "This is--WAS--Tashino's for finding  
the Key of Knowledge. KaliNa gave it to him." She  
sighed. "I do miss him, even though he was evil." She  
held up the rod. "Don't laugh if this sounds lame, I  
can't help it. Forever sun, forever rain, forever joy,  
forever pain, forever gone, forever here, please grant  
my wish, one who is near!" She paused, then said, "To  
Myaketeigu we need to go, please take us there and not  
too slow!"  
  
Colors whirled around the humans, digimon, and snake,  
mostly violet and lavender but also the rest of the  
rainbow. The foursome were yanked into the portal,  
with no clue as to where in Digiworld they would end  
up...


	12. The Shadow of Death

"You're right, that was incredibly lame," Ken said  
after a moment. The remaining forces of the  
digidestined had landed before a giant building and  
were getting their breath back. They looked pitiful  
next to the marble temple. It stretched high into the  
air, nearly blocking out the sun, and looked very out  
of place in the desert. Casia shook her head and stood  
as Chieko twined around her neck and hissed gently.  
Ken forced his aching body up and grabbed Wormmon.  
After a moment of silence, the two humans walked to  
the doors--made of acacia wood and inlaid with pure  
gold--and yanked them open.  
  
Rusty hinges creaked, undisturbed by human hands for  
eons. "Hello," Casia called very softly. Chieko hissed  
rather half-heartedly.  
  
"So."  
  
All four jumped. Chieko and Wormmon landed on the  
floor, both prepared to attack. Casia grabbed Ken's  
arm as a shadow descended from the ceiling.  
  
The doors, heavy as they were, blew shut. In the light  
of flickering torches, Ken, Casia, and Wormmon stepped  
back. Chieko made angry snake noises, raising her head  
and upper body off the floor.  
  
Augu laughed, twisting into the form of a strange  
digimon with the unpierceable hide of a crocodile, the  
talons of a raptor, the hind legs of a powerful wolf,  
the head of a bear, the flaming wings of a phoenix,  
and the swishing, deadly tail of a dragon. Hearing the  
audible gasps of his young adversaries, he laughed,  
cold and harsh. Chieko and Wormmon dashed forward; a  
blast flung them backwards. Their bodies cracked  
against the wall and slid to the floor, limp. Casia  
and Ken gasped, but they didn't cry. There were no  
tears left in them, and there were more important  
things to think about. Augu spoke, idly, as if unaware  
that he had extinguished two lives in only seconds.  
"You pitiful CHILDREN think that you can defeat the  
Shadow of Death, the very creator of the Digital  
World? My fellow Friends--as we once called  
ourselves--would be quite able to defeat me, but they  
are not here. Two are dead. One hates all with a  
passion and never leaves his home world, which is a  
dreaded place. Two are stationed on Earth, unknowing.  
They have forgotten Calakan. They have forgotten our  
world. They have forgotten me."  
  
"If you're going to murder us, you may as well get on  
with it," Casia said angrily, not daring to turn and  
see if, possibly, somehow, Chieko had survived.  
  
"Oh, no. Not here. I am rebuilding Myaketeigu as we  
speak." The two looked and saw that the walls were  
dissipating. In moments, the sunlight streamed in  
through an open-air temple, held up by columns along  
the east and west sides. They turned back to Augu and  
got a shock, for he had changed. He was human now, at  
least fifteen, eyes a glowing reddish-brown. His red  
hair was so dark it looked black. He wore a very  
medieval dark green doublet over a white shirt, along  
with dark breeches and lace-up boots. A dark cloak  
swept to his feet, and a broadsword hung at his side.  
He waved his hand and a golden stand that looked to  
the Earthlings a bit like a bike rack appeared before  
him.  
  
"Fencing. 'Tis a noble art, and 'tis how thee shalt  
die." His human voice was dark and syrupy, with an  
English accent.  
  
Casia and Ken exchanged glances. Fencing was Ken's  
best subject, and Casia was second only to him. Augu  
couldn't have chosen better to test them with.  
  
Four swords appeared on the rack. One was inlaid with  
too many sapphires to count, another with rubies; one  
was made of pure gold, and the last was thin, sharp,  
and light. It glinted, silver metal shining in the  
sunlight.  
  
"We can't do this!" Ken hissed. "We couldn't lift  
those three, and neither of us is good enough to take  
HIM on alone!"  
  
"Try," Casia said, amber eyes pleading. "For Wormmon  
and Chieko."  
  
Ken drew the light silver sword and warily eyed his  
opponent. Augu was thin and long-legged, probably  
adept and speedy. However, this spidery build gave Ken  
an advantage; if he could get hilt-to-hilt, he had a  
chance.  
  
His pulse pounded in his ears as the rack disappeared  
and Augu advanced on him. He raised the sword to  
block, then broke and parried a quick stroke toward  
the other's side. Augu blocked and pressed back. Sweat  
drenched Ken's forehead as he realized that Augu WAS  
muscular, and as such had all advantages against the  
young Earthling. Thrusting desperately, Ken realized  
too late that he had left his side open; he retreated  
with a gasp, Augu's blade narrowly missing his waist.  
He ducked under a blow and came up, pressing the tip  
of his sword against Augu's chest; before he could  
drive it in, Augu turned the sword upside-down and  
smashed the hilt into Ken's head, eyes cruel and  
unrelenting.  
  
"Foul!" Casia screamed as Ken fell back, panting. His  
vision flickered but held, barely. He raised the sword  
two-handed in time to block a strike and deliver one  
of his own, not hitting anything. Blood trickled down  
his forehead, but he completely ignored it--it was  
nothing, like sweat, unless it threatened to impair  
his vision. Soon he was reduced to defense, unable to  
strike his opponent, more adept than he. Augu danced  
closer, presence menacing, sword whirling. The other  
blade twisted like water and cut into Ken's palm; the  
light sword he held skittered away. Augu thrust and  
struck true.  
  
Casia cried out as though it were she who had been hit  
as Ken crumpled, hands wrapped around his stomach in  
agony. Augu grinned maliciously and disappeared as she  
ran forward, kneeling and tugging her friend's hands  
away from the wound. Blood was already pouring from  
the gaping hole just below his ribcage. Pale, Ken  
moaned in pain, eyes shut. He leaned forward, face  
drawn with pain. He could barely breathe. The room  
spun. Sharp streaks of agony flew through his veins  
like fire. He dimly felt his faithful friend yank his  
hands away again, shaking and murmuring desperate  
prayers.  
  
Casia tore strips from the hem of her dress, hands  
shaking. She pressed the black material against Ken's  
chest. He coughed and surrendered to the darkness. She  
muttered a curse and pressed harder. The bleeding soon  
soaked her thin piece of cloth. She ripped off more  
and gently touched it to the wound. Blackness touched  
the edges of her vision. She couldn't pass out, not  
now! Not when Ken, her best friend in the universe,  
needed her most! Her crest dimly glowed; the bleeding  
stopped. An idea raced through her mind and was gone  
before she could make an attempt to grasp it.  
  
All that had happened was too much for Casia. Pain  
seared her temples, and she fainted.


	13. United We Stand

Casia opened her eyes to darkness. At first she  
thought this was because night had fallen; then she  
remembered. Her spirits sank considerably.  
  
Chieko and Wormmon were dead. Ken well might be,  
especially if, somehow, Augu had returned. And she?  
Well, if this was death, it wasn't so bad. The ache in  
her forehead had vanished. She felt someone touch her  
arm and looked. Illuminated by the glowing of his  
crest was Ken.  
  
"Thank you," he whispered. His shirt was still  
blood-soaked, but he was alive. At least, he LOOKED  
alive.  
  
"Umm..." Casia sat up and looked around. Nothing. She  
saw no ceiling, floor, or walls; no stars to reassure  
her that she was in one of the two worlds she knew so  
well.  
  
"Welcome t' Calakan," Ken said rather half-heartedly.  
  
"Cala--CALAKAN?" she gasped.  
  
Ken nodded. "That's what Take said. He appeared and  
said we were here because we're dead, and because we  
aren't able to be in Angel Land." A pause. "Angel Land  
is the Dark Ocean now."  
  
Casia gazed around. There was light now, a grayish  
light. This place was desolate. The few trees were  
burned or dead. There was nothing. Mountains lined the  
northern border, and they were on a long stretch of  
barren, rocky ground.  
  
"We're dead." She shook her head. "Then no one will  
save the worlds."  
  
"Augu is the Dragon." They were both quiet again for  
several long moments. "He killed them. Dai and  
Sinasha."  
  
More silence.  
  
"I've read a lot of good science fiction books."  
Casia's voice rang loud in the smothering stillness.  
"There was one--one that said that--if you BELIEVE in  
something--really believe--it's real."  
  
Ken was quiet.  
  
"Maybe if--if we believed--"  
  
"But it was science FICTION."  
  
"Does that matter?" she said impatiently. "Does  
anything matter a'tall in this idiotic place? Please,  
K'chan. It's our only hope."  
  
The cards began to glow.  
  
"Together we can do anything, Ken."  
  
The digivices shone in the light, misty gray.  
  
"Please. Do it for me, Chieko, Wormmon...do it for our  
friends...do it for Osamu, Ken."  
  
Her crest glowed gold.  
  
He sighed heavily. "I've a mind to let you go by  
yourself." A dreadful silence. "But I won't. You're  
right. Let's go."  
  
His crest glowed purple.  
  
"I believe in us," she said.  
  
"I believe in Earth."  
  
"In Digiworld."  
  
"In Wormmon."  
  
"In Chieko."  
  
Together they named their friends. After Casia said,  
slightly choked by now, "In Rob," Ken remembered  
something, as if from many millenia ago...  
  
"I will always be ready to help you, Ken. The name's  
Aurora. Don't forget it."  
  
"I believe," he said triumphantly, "in Aurora!"  
  
Casia opened her mouth to reply, but didn't get a  
chance. Multi-colored light poured down on them. Its  
warmth enveloped the last of the digidestined,  
restoring breath to lungs that had long since stopped  
breathing, restoring pulse to hearts that hadn't  
beaten in many hours, restoring life to bodies that  
had lain dead since they had been pierced by the  
Shadow of Death.  
  
They believed...and they lived.  
  
Augu gasped in shock as the two children sat up. He  
turned into a vapor and floated to the ceiling,  
watching.  
  
"It worked," Casia breathed. "It worked!"  
  
Ken laughed and stood. The only bad thing, as far as  
he could tell, was a dull pain in his chest. But it  
was nothing. He was alive! Then he spotted Wormmon and  
Chieko.  
  
The two walked slowly to their friends and knelt, wind  
blowing their hair. The bodies were still and cold. A  
single tear streaked down Casia's face.  
  
"So sad." Again they jumped at the Shadow of Death's  
voice. He was human again, older this time, about  
twenty. He glared at them. "Tell me how you managed to  
survive!"  
  
"Through mind, body, and spirit," Ken said defiantly.  
  
Said it, and remembered.  
  
"The Crest of Mind," he murmured, holding up the now  
brilliantly glowing purple crest.  
  
Casia gasped in recognition, remembering what her  
crest had done. "The Crest of Body."  
  
They looked at each other and shouted, "The Crest of  
Spirit!"  
  
The symbols burst from the crests, the force knocking  
the two over. Crescent moon circled zig-zag high  
above. Finally, the two collided in a shower of  
sparks, and one figure revolved there.  
  
It was a silver harp with wings. It split and streamed  
down, into both crests. They glowed brightly, sharply.  
Life was brought to the two bodies nearby. Wormmon and  
Chieko rolled over and sat up, staring at their  
masters, who stood close, staring at Augu and  
clutching their crests defiantly. Wormmon was about to  
say something when a torrent of fire shot into him.  
  
"Wormmon, hyper-digivolve to...Nientimon!"  
  
Even as the two stunned children turned, Chieko spoke,  
in a deep, hissing voice.  
  
"Chieko, hyper-evolve to...Asaya!"  
  
Nientimon was an angel holding a rod--a wish rod, pure  
white with pale pink wings. A sword was strapped at  
his side--the very sword Ken himself had fought with  
not so long ago.  
  
Asaya was a dragon. She unfurled her wings and shot a  
stream of flame at Augu, who jumped over it,  
panicking. As a human, he could do nothing; as a  
shadow, he was powerless; as a digimon, he could not  
digivolve. But as the Dragon, the Dragon that had so  
long ago destroyed Calakan and those he had once  
counted as friends...  
  
Augu vanished, to reappear as the Dragon. Nientimon  
raised the rod and hit it against the air, sending a  
loud sound like the ring of a gong through the air.  
Casia and Ken cringed against the noise; the Dragon  
took no notice. His battle was with Asaya, the  
Heavenly Dragon, the one in the prophecy that had been  
in Kari's book...  
  
And the Dragon will rise  
And destroy his friends  
The digidestined will fail  
But the Kitya will make them see the light  
They will return with the Heavenly Dragon  
And with the Angel of Time  
And they will destroy the evil...  
  
He didn't know anything about the Kitya, but he did  
know that the Heavenly Dragon was his foe. The Angel  
of Time was said to be neutral, a data, and would not  
fight fiercely.  
  
But this particular "neutral" angel had something  
against the Dragon. He had watched the Dragon attempt  
to slay his friend and in the end succeed. And for  
that he would pay.  
  
"Holy Time!"  
  
Greenish light swirled up and around, shaking at the  
solid moorings of Myaketeigu. Nientimon grabbed Ken as  
Asaya snatched up Casia. Both flew out of the temple  
as it collapsed upon itself. They were not ten feet  
from the ruins when they reverted to their previous  
forms.  
  
"Chieko!" Casia shrieked, grabbing her friend in a  
fierce hug. Ken did likewise with Wormmon. Then both  
looked back at the temple.  
  
"That's it, then," Casia murmured. "Myaketeigu is  
dead, as is the evil that once resided in it. We can  
go home--for good."  
  
A soft thump from behind made the foursome turn--and  
promptly gasp in disbelief.  
  
They were there, all of them--Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy,  
Kari, Mimi, Joe, Daisuke, Miyako, T.K, Iori, and all  
their digimon. There were two uninvited guests,  
however--Kyra and Siko.  
  
"You're alive," Ken said in wonder. He looked down at  
his crest, which--he was surprised to note--was back  
to its normal state. "The crests did it, didn't they?"  
  
Siko regarded them all with her blind eyes. "What  
happened? We were drowning, and then it all stopped,  
and then we talked to you all, and--and now I don't  
know what's going on!"  
  
Kyra sighed. "Siko, we've landed in a desert, so giant  
that you can see nothing but sand except for the ruins  
of what once must have been a beautiful building. The  
other digi-whatsits are here, and so are Ken and Casia  
and the creatures and a worm thing and a snake.  
Casia's wearing a torn black dress--" Here the girl  
blushed deeply-- "and Ken's in his Tamachi uniform,  
but it's all bloodstained."  
  
"Yeah," T.K. said. "What happened to the two of you?"  
  
They looked at what had been Myaketeigu. "It's a long  
story," both said at the same time.  
  
Kari inclined her head toward Siko and Kyra. "I'm  
assuming they are Myatta and Teiru?"  
  
"What?" both said.  
  
And then it all came out, all the things the  
digidestined had left out or forgotten or not had time  
to tell--all about Calakan and Angel Land and the  
Friends. Then Casia retold their story, with  
occasional input from Ken and Wormmon. Finally, Siko  
blinked--and in that moment, her misted eyes cleared.  
  
"Myatta--I can see again," she said in stunned wonder.  
"I can see everyone."  
  
"Then our imprisonment is over," Myatta said in a  
voice quite unlike her Earth one. She looked at Ken  
and Casia and all the rest. "You see, we ran away to  
Earth before Augu went bad. It was so hard. We were  
twins, you know, but in the struggle Teiru lost her  
sight. We built new lives for ourselves there, taking  
the place of Akira and Asiko."  
  
"Are you digidestined, then?" Tai asked.  
  
"No." Teiru laughed. "How can the Digiworld's creators  
be its saviors?"  
  
"Then who are the last two digidestined?" Miyako  
asked.  
  
Myatta laughed. "Why, the REAL Siko and Kyra, of  
course. Erek was all messed up. He meant Kyra and  
Siko, but thinking that they were us, he gave you the  
wrong names." Seeing their odd stares, she added,  
"Alongside his gift for commanding digimon to do his  
will was his gift in reading prophecies."  
  
A laugh rang out from somewhere behind them. "But he  
never found out about the Kitya."  
  
All fifteen humans and thirteen digimon turned to see  
Aurora, eyes now hazel and radiating delight.  
  
"You see," she continued, quite as though she had been  
introduced to all of the group instead of two, "we,  
the Chingomon, are the Kitya." She looked at Myatta  
and Teiru. "Perhaps I ought to tell you how we were  
began.  
  
"They did not create us. Take did. He made us to be  
his holy angels, each different. We were that, at  
first. Then we fell to the Digiworld when Angel Land  
was destroyed and changed, making ourselves the  
Chingomon. I was the first. Alizamon was second, Rob  
third. We are called the First. We are virtually  
immortal. No other Chingomon can be reborn. We can.  
That is why I told you, Ken, that she would be back.  
  
"Our other name was the Kitya. We wrote that prophecy.  
Rob, see--he's a fair hand at prophecies. He wrote  
that book. Then Sinasha and Dai came as Gabumon and  
Palmon. The Chingomon became evil because of them--all  
but Rob and myself, and Ai. She was a good digimon  
until that darkness came and turned her into a  
DarkDestined."  
  
All were silent until, at last, Agumon said, "Then we  
should go get the last two. Alizamon will be back."


	14. Dreams, Nightmares, and Realities

PART FOURTEEN: DREAMS, NIGHTMARES, AND REALITIES  
  
This was not, however, what they did first. They had to perform a Psychic Memory Erase and then get home so that their parents wouldn't be suspicious. Siko and Kyra were not at school the next day, or the next, and Ken and Casia began to wonder if they would ever be back.  
  
And what would they do if they weren't?  
  
The third day, everyone was sluggish. The morning lessons began, but soon ended, as Mr. Yamizaki couldn't stop yawning. Many children fell asleep on their desks. Ken felt like the only one alert, especially since Casia had leaned forward and was idly twirling a strand of hair around her finger. He got up, walked to her, and knelt beside her desk.  
  
"D'you think they'll come back?"  
  
"Dunno." She paused. "Fencing and music this afternoon."  
  
"Hmm..."  
  
The door to the classroom swung open, and the twins walked in. They looked much more awake than everyone else felt. Siko was still blind, eyes clouded, Ken was glad to see. She was a good enough swordsman without sight, but with it...  
  
"Sorry we're late, Mr. Yamizaki," Kyra said, musical voice perky. "Mother wanted us to go to the doctor to make sure we're well again."  
  
"It's all right," he said, stifling another yawn. "The morning is yours. Everyone is too tired to learn today."  
  
The two walked over to Ken and Casia. "Hi, Ken, Casia, what's up?" Kyra asked.  
  
"Nothing a'tall," Casia murmured, head dropping onto folded arms.  
  
Siko shrugged. "Well, we're glad to be back, in any case."  
  
The bell rang. "Music!" Kyra said happily. "The one subject I can beat Ken at!"  
  
Casia grinned and followed the twins out the door. Suddenly feeling very odd--in only forty minutes he would hold a sword again--Ken ran after them.  
  
  
  
Music was especially fun. Everyone perked up as they sang several popular teenage American songs that had been translated. The words sounded so strange! Casia then went on to the second verse of "He Loves U Not" by Dream, in English. By the time she launched into the chorus, everyone was laughing.  
  
Except Siko.  
  
Casia's pronunciation was perfect. She sounded as though she had always been American and had Japanese as her second language. But according to her short biography for English, she had been born right here in Odaiba...  
  
Siko shook her head. According to Kyra, Casia looked completely Japanese--not a shred of American in her. And Kyra was usually right.  
  
  
  
Ken pulled Casia aside as the chattering kids headed for fencing. "If I cut class, will you make my excuses?" he whispered.  
  
She laughed. "Why, Ken-chan?"  
  
He glanced around nervously. "Ever since we got back I've been having the same nightmare every time I fall asleep. It's awful. It's like reliving that fencing match with Augu, and it always ends when he--"  
  
"Punctures your gut." She laughed again. "K'chan, it's a dream. You'll be fine."  
  
"Somehow I doubt you. Do you have your crest?"  
  
"AND the card. Ken, no matter what it'll be fine." She shoved him ahead. "Let's go. It's pairing off again, like last week. Me and Siko today. You've got Kyra. Hana's got Chantal. That should be interesting." She named off several others. Just as she reached the classroom, she whispered, suddenly not looking so bright, "It would have been Emi an' Tashino, I guess--but neither of them are here."  
  
Ken felt very sick.  
  
Hana fought Chantal first. The French exchange student pulled off a spectacular win, complete with a cry of "Touche!" Then came Siko and Casia. The blind girl would have won if Casia had not pulled off a magnificent twist that flung the sword out of her hands.  
  
Ken nervously stepped up, pulling on the thick cloth they used as armor. He brought his sword to "guard" position and began to sweat. This was Kyra, not Myatta. He didn't know her ways at all. Somehow she looked faster, and there was a strange glint in her eye.  
  
Someone handed him a sword. He gulped. It was not the one he had fought Augu with. That would have been creepy. This was a normal practice sword.  
  
"On guard! And...fence!"  
  
Kyra lunged in and swung her blade in a butterfly. Ken blocked and swung. She danced away. Nervously, he placed his other hand on the hilt and swung the sword up and in. She followed the move easily and cut into his palm, reopening the scars Augu had left. He gave his sword the flick that she had never been able to avoid.  
  
But this was a whole different Kyra.  
  
She blocked and twisted. The blade slid from his sweaty palms, and she kicked it away. He ducked and scrambled to get it without letting her touch him. Fingers closed around the blade and he turned, ready to strike--  
  
But she struck instead.  
  
He collapsed as a kind of numb panic flooded his body. Since he and Kyra were top fencers, they had been permitted to use the "real" swords--ones that weren't  
blunted. He felt blood seeping through his fingers as white-hot pain shot through his body for the second time that week.  
  
Someone pulled his fingers away--Mr. Hirakawa, the fencing teacher. "Someone call 911!" he shouted. Siko instantly complied, years of practicing allowing her swiftness through the halls she walked so often.  
  
Casia dropped down on his other side, as did Kyra. "I-I didn't mean to--" Kyra stuttered.  
  
"Hush, we all know you didn't," Mr. Hirakawa said. He and Casia gently peeled his blood-soaked cloth armor off. Fear accompanied by remembrance shot through Casia as she recognized Ken's pale face, twisted in agony. She touched her crest.  
  
Which wasn't glowing.  
  
"Hang in there, Ken," she murmured as Siko re-entered the room.  
  
He moaned and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his middle again. The dream had been right. He had lost to a superior swordsman...lost in a most undignified way.  
  
Undignified meaning that it hurt.  
  
Suddenly he heard a familiar hiss. Surely Casia wouldn't...?  
  
She had.  
  
Chieko uncoiled from her digidestined's waist, making the noise that she had when Casia had lain ill so long ago. Casia cast a startled look from Chieko to Mr. Hirakawa to her classmates to Ken. She sighed and let the snake go.  
  
One moment Ken felt pain, the next a blissful sense of peace as Chieko sank her fangs into his arm. Several people screamed. Ken suddenly felt much better. He sat up and let go of his stomach, feeling much better as the bell rang.  
  
Casia got a detention that afternoon for bringing a pet to school--but quite frankly, she didn't care.  
  
  
  
Ken barely managed to catch up with Casia the next day as they walked to school. "Hey Cass!" he shouted. When he finally managed to get beside her, he noticed that she wasn't wearing Chieko. In fact, she looked downright miserable. Her hair was tangled, she had a black eye, and there was a terrible slash on her cheek.  
  
"What happened to you?" he asked, placing a finger under her chin and turning her face up so he could see better. Her normally bright eyes were dull with pain. He gently touched a bruise on her left cheekbone. "Well?"  
  
She pushed him away, rather roughly. "Same thing as happened to you."  
  
"What...?"  
  
"Dream...turning real." They began to walk, her limping, him walking slow and watching her through worry-filled eyes. She sighed and continued.  
  
"I had a dream. I woke up, but I couldn't remember it. I do now, but that isn't the point. I was restless and decided to go to the Digiworld. I met up with Aurora and Rob. We walked to Alizamon's place--"  
  
"Then it was her? Oh, I swear--"  
  
"No! She hasn't even been reconfigured yet, Ken!" Casia looked up at him, running a hand through her hair. When she pulled it out it was covered with blood. She sighed and went on. "A Chingomon man came out and ordered us away. Rob killed him. More came out. While they were fighting..." She touched the bruise and winced. "A Chingomon girl started on me. She gave me the shiner and the bruise. I knocked her away, and then HE came."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Would you stop interrupting?! It was Aiyarinmon. It looked like a giant spider, but at the ends of its legs were spikes. It cut my cheek and then hit my leg." She winced again as her weight fell on her bad leg. "I tried to run, but he slammed that spike into my head--"  
  
Ken stopped her again, grabbing her arm. "You can't possibly go to school like this! Let me see." She obediently bent over, exposing the back of her head to him. He gently touched the shallow scratch. "Then what?"  
  
She straightened and kept walking. "He kept hitting me. I felt like fainting. Then Aurora grabbed my arm, pulled me to the TV, and shoved me through." She swallowed. "That was exactly where my dream ended. I hope she's okay..."  
  
"Casia," Ken said softly, "you can't be like this all the time. You're holding something back. What is it?"  
  
Her eyes suddenly were fierce. "Leave me alone! That's none of your business!"  
  
"But it is. I'm your friend, Cass, remember? We all are."  
  
She looked down and said, quietly but forcefully, "I didn't exactly ASK you to be my friends, though. How do you know the feeling is mutual?"  
  
And she walked faster.  
  
Ken stared after her. ~I know, little light in the dark. It's so obvious it's painful.~ And he went after her, slowly, barely getting to school before the bell.  
  
  
  
The next few days were terrible for the digidestined. Daisuke, Kari, and T.K. each went through their own bouts with "true dreams" as Daisuke got a mild concussion from a soccer ball, Kari barely escaped with her life when a friend's house caught fire, and T.K. lost--very badly and with a sprained wrist--in a kendo match with Iori. Miyako refused to get any sleep, and Iori spent several restless—yet dreamless--nights.  
  
Meanwhile, at Tamachi Elementary, Ken was beginning to feel very left out. Casia ignored him completely while at the same time helping Siko and Kyra understand the Digiworld mission. On the rare occasion that he talked to the twins--now they were usually hanging out with Casia--he learned several interesting bits of information.  
  
The twins shared crests and cards, in a way. Although there were two of each, all four were red. The Crests of Heart each showed a half-heart. According to Siko, Casia was searching out their digimon and had begun to spend her nights in the Digiworld. She and Aurora had become very close, and Chieko was obviously not happy with this.  
  
As Miyako, Iori, and the rest waited to see what the nightmares come reality had in store for them, it became more and more clear that there were now only eight digidestined.  
  
And Casia's name was no longer on that list.  
  
  
  
Miyako tapped a pencil against her lip. She had five minutes to decide--five minutes before class ended and one path was gone for the weekend. She stared at the clock without seeing it. Five minutes to decide whether to stop her dream from happening or--  
  
The bell rang. She blinked and instantaneously made her decision. Grabbing her backpack and running toward the door she shouted, "Asha!"  
  
The redhead turned, ice green eyes puzzled. "Yes?" She saw who had called. "Hey, aren't you one of those digidestined?"  
  
"Yes." Miyako walked quickly to the former DarkDestined, hiding a smile. This was the first time she had come face-to-face with the girl since their last battle, when Shurimon had destroyed Nodesumon. It was nice to know that, for once, she wouldn't be attacked.  
  
"Then why are you looking for me?"  
  
Miyako sighed. "It's--Casia. We--Ken--has been noticing that she just isn't one of us anymore—like she used to be. And no one knows her better than her teammates, right?" Asha turned away. "Shouldn't talk to you...you killed Tashino. But...all right. You want to know why Casia is acting this way?"  
  
Miyako nodded.  
  
"We don't know. Her DigiMental was sacrifice, but I don't know if she still has it. She couldn't use it. She has secrets, her and that snake. She was there before all of us. She won't tell us anything at all."  
  
An image flashed into Miyako's mind: Casia flinging herself in front of DarkStingmon and BlackGarurumon's attack, taking the full blow for her enemies. "And that means that--"  
  
"That she is no use to you whatsoever."  
  
"But--Asaya--no, you won't know who Asaya is--"  
  
Asha laughed. "Hey, there's something called a phone--Miyako, isn't it?" At the purple-haired girl's nod, the DarkDestined continued, "But Asaya comes from the Crest of Spirit. The Crests of Body and Sacrifice are useless. I knew you digidestined weren't all that bright, but I didn't think you were THIS stupid! Look, Cass won't open up to anyone she doesn't trust. She didn't trust her own cousin; why should she trust YOU?"  
  
"We're her friends."  
  
"That's not what I've been hearing." Asha frowned. "She's helping Siko and Kyra. But don't underestimate her! I'm warning you!"  
  
Miyako nodded. At that moment her D-Terminal beeped. She pulled it out.  
  
"It's an email from Iori!"  
  
"Read it."  
  
Feeling very strange--after all, Asha was a DarkDestined--Miyako read out, "It says, 'Miyako, the Digiworld is in danger, and Casia's not responding to our messages. Find her and bring her to the computer lab. We need Nientimon and Asaya.'" The young digidestined looked up. "Asha--"  
  
"I'll help you. Just this once." She turned back and headed for the fourth grade classroom. Seeing Miyako's stare, she said, "We're gonna need a digimon for this."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And that means we need Erek." She ran a hand through her hair. "Cass said Ai is back. That means most of us will finally be reunited."  
  
And at those words, Miyako couldn't help but feel sick.  
  
  
  
"Just answer them already!"  
  
Casia shot a sharp glare at her friend. "So you're talking to me again, are you?"  
  
The first speaker made an angry noise. "Casia, when will you tell them? Let them help you! Please just do it. You know they care about you...especially Siko and Kyra and the Kaizer..."  
  
"He isn't the Kaizer anymore! And how would you like them to know about you? About what you are? About what I am?"  
  
"Oh, Casia."  
  
"Oh, Casia, nothing!" The girl sat down. "Won't you even tell Aurora?"  
  
"No, I will not. Digimon are not pets, Casia! We are just friends, partners. Please tell them. You'll lose control if you don't."  
  
Casia looked away, running a finger down the long scar on her face. "You weren't there when I needed you. And that scares me more than...than..."  
  
"Casia, I'll always be there. Always. I didn't MEAN to start fighting that one Chingomon. How was I to know he was the general of the army?"  
  
"It was your choice."  
  
The other was quiet. "No, Casia. No. You deserve a Crest of Heart, but for a very different reason than Siko and Kyra."  
  
Casia pulled out two tags and a DigiMental. "Sacrifice. Body. And something. Yet I can use only two. Why?"  
  
"Because the other works only for the destined one. You are not that destined one, my Casia."  
  
The girl put her things away. "Let's go--"  
  
An earthquake drowned out her words as a chasm opened below her. She tumbled down into the blackness, screaming.  
  
  
  
"So why are we here?" Daisuke asked, leaning back on the table. They were still waiting for Ken, Casia, and Miyako.  
  
Iori sighed. "My dream came true and I only just remembered it. The Digiworld is in danger from something--not a Chingomon, something else. And Casia will be in danger if we don't find her right away."  
  
At that moment four children dashed in. "Cass, Siko, and Kyra went to the Digiworld an hour ago," Ken burst out breathlessly. T.K. moved out of the computer chair to let Miyako sit down. She looked just as panicked as Ken. Erek and Asha stayed in the background.  
  
"They're helping us," Miyako said. "There." She pointed to the area that was home to Gennai's house. There was a flashing dot. "Target sighted." On closer inspection, however, there were only two red points.  
  
"That's Siko and Kyra," Asha said, moving forward and taking the mouse from Miyako. She moved around, but didn't find Casia. "Then she's home..."  
  
"No." Everyone turned to Ken. "She isn't home. I know she isn't. We have to get to the Digiworld, and fast!"  
  
"Uno momento," Erek said. "We have EXACTLY two digimon against this creature." He pointed to his own Bakarumon and to Gatomon. The others were training with Pixiemon. "Kodrimon and Nefertimon aren't enough. And we'd never make it to Pixiemon. The closest landing spot is nearer to Gennai's house than it is to there."  
  
Kari stepped forward. "We have to find Casia. That's all there is to it. Our digimon will help."  
  
"Digi-Port, open!" Daisuke shouted. In seconds, the six digidestined and the two DarkDestined vanished into the portal.  
  
  
  
"We have to split up," Daisuke said as soon as they all landed. "T.Z., Iori, and I will go get our digimon from Pixiemon. Miyako, you and Asha go to Gennai's. Find Siko and Kyra and bring them to Primary Village. Ken, you can go to Primary Village. See if you can find their digimon. Erek and Kari, find this monster and start fighting. We have to get going or we'll never survive."  
  
"Is our leader actually THINKING?" T.K. asked.  
  
Daisuke blinked. "Huh?"  
  
Everyone laughed and headed off toward their separate destinations.  
  
  
  
Miyako and Asha finally reached Gennai's house. Siko and Kyra ran out to meet them. Kyra's Digiworld clothes truly did make her look like a biker chick—a leather jacket open at the front to reveal a white T-shirt, and jeans encasing her legs--not to mention  
black leather boots. Siko was much different from her twin in a silky pink shirt and black pants that enabled great movement. She also had glasses with purple lenses that obscured her clouded eyes. "Hello, Miyako!" the two cried.  
  
The digidestined girl introduced Casia and quickly explained the mission. The twins nodded, and the foursome were off--on foot, of course, Kyra leading Siko.  
  
  
  
Next to reach his destination was Ken. He was immediately found by Elecmon. Barely managing to convince the digimon that he was good now, he was led to a building.  
  
"There's a computer in here. Try it out. I don't understand at all." Ken grinned at the incredibly huffy digimon and entered the building. In only a few minutes, he came out, crest glowing.  
  
And somewhere in the field, two Digi-Eggs began to glow as well...  
  
  
  
Erek and Kari had no trouble finding their adversary, who was quite intent on destroying a small village filled with Koromon. Kodrimon and Nefertimon instantly sprang forth. Then the creature turned.  
  
Aiyarinmon stared at them, then grinned. Raising one long, hairy leg, he showed the spike on the bottom, then slammed it into the ground with a cry of, "Earthquake Strike!"  
  
Kari and Erek were knocked down, although their flying digimon managed to stay up. They shot at him, but Aiyarinmon was too fast. He opened his mouth and let out a web, accompanied by the scream of, "Netting Fire!"  
  
It burned. The digimon screamed in pain.  
  
  
  
Daisuke, T.K., and Iori got to Pixiemon's castle just as the ground began to shake. Their digimon ran out to meet them. "Where's Ken-chan?" Wormmon asked desperately.  
  
"Primary Village, let's go," Iori said. In minutes he was aboard Pegasusmon with T.K., while Daisuke sat on Raidramon.  
  
"We haven't got a hope against Aiyarinmon," Raidramon growled. "Our only hope now is if we can possibly go Jogress level. Or Hyper. But that seems downright impossible!"  
  
Daisuke wondered, as they flew toward the battle, just what Jogress level was.  
  
  
  
Total chaos met Raidramon, Pegasusmon, the newly-digivolved Digmon, and their human partners when they reached the battlefield. Nefertimon and Kodrimon were screaming now. Kari was very pale, and Erek looked shocked. Aiyarinmon laughed as three attacks came at him. He ducked and sent out another earthquake.  
  
Something small latched onto his leg. "Chieko!" T.K. yelled as the snake clung for all she was worth to the creature who had harmed her digidestined.  
  
"If Chieko's here, so is Casia!" Erek shouted. But as the children looked around, they saw no sign of the missing DarkDestined...  
  
  
  
Akarumon and Ninyamon were delighted to meet their digidestined. Kyra immediately hugged Akarumon, a pale lavender dog-like creature with floppy ears and sharp teeth. Three tails whipped from side-to-side as the two laughed.  
  
Ninyamon was more quiet than her sister. She looked the same, but emerald green with only one tail and short ears. Siko loved the small digimon the minute she heard her sister give a description.  
  
"They're already at rookie level," Ken said, assuming that Casia had told them about the levels. Just then, another earthquake rocked the ground. Lightning zagged across the sky. It would rain any second.  
  
As the five ran toward Wormmon and Hawkmon, both waiting to digivolve, Ken wondered once again exactly what had happened to Casia.  
  
  
  
Aiyarinmon grinned cruelly at the angry digidestined. They were so pathetic. They didn't know about his...advantages. They had all walked so willingly into his arms, a fatal move in a deadly game of chess. They were in check...no, make that checkMATE.  
  
The ground cracked before him. Time to put his plan into action.  
  
  
  
Kyra grabbed her sister's arm and yanked her back as a dark blue wave of energy slammed into the ground where they had been standing. Akarumon and Ninyamon followed. Kyra stared down at Ninyamon, eyes narrow. The small digimon's eyes...she hadn't looked close before. They were milky white.  
  
Ninyamon was blind.  
  
"Akarumon, digivolve to...Oshanimon!"  
  
"Ninyamon, digivolve to...Riamon!"  
  
Oshanimon and Riamon were large dragons, with their respective number of tails. Oshanimon was red, Ninyamon aquamarine blue. They bounded into battle.  
  
Suddenly Kyra heard a sharp cry. She looked up. Vines had spun out of the ground, bearing the unconscious form of Casia. Ken had been the one to yell.  
  
"Casia!" Asha and Erek yelped. Kodrimon paused in the air. Another dark wave knocked him back into the more comfortable form of Bakarumon.  
  
Casia stirred and opened her eyes. "Run!" she shrieked--whether at Aiyarinmon or the digidestined, no one knew. "Get out!"  
  
Chieko flew away from Aiyarinmon's leg to wrap around Casia's arm. Suddenly the vines dropped them both onto the ground. The girl whirled and began crawling backwards from the monster, whose deep brown eyes seemed to whisper, "Soon, my sweet..."  
  
And it began to change.  
  


Four legs melted away as the other half became human arms and legs. The spider's body shrank into a thin human one, and his head was also human. The digidestined gave voice to a sharp cry as they recognized the black-clothed form before them.  
  
Tashino was back.


	15. Captured!

PART FIFTEEN: CAPTURED!  
  
Each and every digimon trembled as vines tore from the ground again, this time tying them together, powerless. Kyra tried to pull her sister away from the dark growth, but failed as the next ones wrapped around the twins. Slowly, the other digidestined were captured as well.  
  
"Check and mate, I win," Tashino said. "Got anything to tell your friends, Cass?"  
  
She looked at them, eyes trusting her to save them, and turned away. "I've nothing to tell the digidestined, Tashino. Let's go."  
  
"We trusted you." Daisuke's voice rang loud in the stillness. "We believed you when you turned against the DarkDestined to help destroy HIM. And you failed us, Benedict Casia. You're a traitor!"  
  
She hissed. "Shut up. You'll only make this situation worse."  
  
  
  
She came to visit Ken that night, eyes shining gold in the soft darkness. "Having fun?"  
  
"No. I trusted you. We all did." His violet-blue eyes shone angrily in the black of night. "What did you do with Wormmon and the others?"  
  
She shrugged contemptuously. "The digimon are all tied to a tree, as are the digidestined--each of you alone, of course. Kyra and Siko are at opposite ends of the clearing. Asha and Erek went home...after we took their digivices and DigiMentals, ensuring that they could not return to help you."  
  
Ken glared at her. "Casia, why?"  
  
"Because you killed Tashino."  
  
"He HURT you! You have a scar, damn you! Because of your COUSIN!"  
  
She turned her head away, long hair falling to hide the scar in the dim glow from a campfire. "Please, Ken. Don't. You don't understand." And you won't ever tell me, Ken added silently.  
  
"I miss you." The words caught her off-guard. "When you were off being dark with your friends, it made me almost want to be one of you, to be the Kaizer again. Only my digidestined friends kept me back. I'm loyal." She was silent. "Unlike you."  
  
"You just don't get it," she murmured. She yanked something out of a pocket in her Digiworld dress and flashed it at him. "A DigiMental. The DigiMental of Sacrifice. THIS is my DarkDestined crest. I have to live up to it, even if I have to sacrifice you." She sighed. "And Tashino is my cousin."  
  
"You're lying."  
  
Her head snapped up to look at him. "How--"  
  
"I always used to think of you as a light in the dark--MY light--because of your eyes." He grinned slightly, trying to ignore the fact that his legs were going numb and his arms hurt from being tied behind the tree. "They get darker when you lie. And they just stopped glowing."  
  
She reached out. At first he thought she was going to hit him, but instead she yanked the Crest of Mind out from under his shirt and pulled it over his head. "No chances. We don't need Nientimon making a scene." She placed the crest over her own neck and started to walk away. Then she called back softly, "He doesn't know about the crest of Spirit."  
  
And her eyes were glowing.  
  
  
  
Daisuke and Miyako were growing very restless. Each could see the other, but they were too far away to talk without being caught. Daisuke had figured out that Ken was on the other side of the bushes from Casia's conversation with him. By the time she reached them, she had three new crests and three D-Terminals. "Your turn," she taunted, pulling Miyako's D-Terminal from her pocket. "For the Guardian of Courage and Friendship, you are pathetic, Dai-kun." She waved his D-Terminal in front of his face. "Have a good night." She vanished into the circle of light that lit the clearing.  
  
Eventually, all digidestined but one fell into very uncomfortable sleep.  
  
  
  
The digidestined resisted an urge to cheer as the last  
member, Daisuke, worked feeling into his numb legs.  
Thanks to T.K.'s plan, they were free and hiding  
behind a large willow tree's waving blue branches.  
  
"I can't believe them!" Tashino yelled. Led by a silent Kyra, the digidestined moved so they could see into the clearing. The DarkDestined leader kicked at the group of digimon. "Talk, you foolish creatures!"  
  
Without bothering to make plans, the digidestined acted. Kari threw herself at the digimon and started to fumble with the ropes. Kyra, Siko, Miyako, and Iori jumped Casia, while Daisuke, Ken, and T.K. flung their bodies at Tashino. They took the enemy completely off-guard.  
  
Kari easily freed the digimon, who ran into battle in their young forms. Casia was able to hang onto the DigiMentals and crests thanks to Chieko, who lashed out from the girl's waist and slammed her scaly body into Siko's stomach. The blind girl stumbled backwards and tripped over Ninyamon and Akarumon. Taking advantage of her enemies' preoccupation, Casia got to her feet and let Chieko unwind from around her waist, prepared to strike.  
  
Tashino also fared well. The newly released digimon actually helped; when Ninyamon tripped Siko, the three angry boys were forced to jump away or risk pain for all four of them. Tashino ran to Casia's side.  
  
"Come on, love, show them," he breathed. She gasped and shoved him away, suddenly shaking. ~That's the third time he's called me that! That's--that's incest or something! Tashino, why? What happened to you?~  
  
"Chieko, armor-evolve to...Sakiiura! Sacrifice's Fire!" Casia's head snapped up. She didn't remember saying "Digi-Armor Energize" or anything like it...but Sakiiura was a welcome sight. The lizard digimon was dark pink with royal blue markings, including a sword etched on her forehead--the symbol of sacrifice. Casia stepped back as her digimon shot fire at the stunned digidestined.  
  
Kari screamed as fire touched her skin. Daisuke and T.K. moved closer as the fire whirled around them. Without DigiMentals this fight was pointless. An appearance of Tashino's vines soon had the digidestined helpless once again.  
  
Tashino cracked a whip against the ground. Even Casia jumped. His cruel, dark eyes scanned the trussed-up children before him. "Ichijouji. Up. We'll see how YOU like the pain that you once inflicted on all sorts of digimon...including your precious Wormmon." The DarkDestined snapped the whip in Wormmon's direction.  
  
"You leave him alone!" Ken cried as the vines dropped him. For a second he considered running; then he looked at Sakiiura and lost all thoughts of doing anything. The armor looked much more powerful than Stingmon. And it hit him; Stingmon. Angemon. The fact that Casia hadn't touched the digivices...  
  
White-hot pain hit his back. He jumped as the pain spread like wildfire through his body. Tashino smiled maliciously and snapped the whip again. Ken bit his lip. He would ride this tiger; he had to tell the others about his plan.  
  
"Stop."  
  
Daisuke and T.K. looked at Kari, who was shaking, whether in fear or anger they couldn't tell. Chieko, who had de-evolved moments before, slithered backwards and into Casia's waiting arms. "Stop that," Kari repeated, starting to glow light pink.  
  
"Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!"  
  
"Patamon, digivolve to...Angemon!"  
  
"Akarumon, digivolve to...Oshanimon!"  
  
"Ninyamon, digivolve to...Riamon!"  
  
And then something truly amazing happened.  
  
"Veemon, digivolve to...ExVeemon!"  
  
"Hawkmon, digivolve to...Aquillamon!"  
  
"Armadillomon, digivolve to...Ankylomon!"  
  
"Chieko, evolve to...Shinna!"  
  
Tashino gasped in shock as Shinna, a miniature Asaya, landed on all fours, snarling angrily. Casia pressed a hand against her mouth to keep from crying out. Suddenly the stolen crests and DigiMentals floated away from her and back to their respective partners.  
  
The DarkDestined boy growled angrily. "You brats!" Arms grew, everything turned black, Miyako screamed in disgust, and Aiyarinmon stood before the digidestined, one long black leg raised before him.  
  
In a sudden flash of steel, Kari saw the all-too-familiar sight of the Dark Ocean. She dropped to her knees. "No! Not now!" she pleaded. Someone knelt beside her.  
  
"Kari?" The girl looked up to see Miyako. "Kar--"  
  
Someone knocked them out of the way as Aiyarinmon's leg slammed down. They heard a shriek and then a desperate cry:  
  
"KYRA!"  
  
The biker chick was pinned to the ground, hands thrown in front of her face. Her disabled sister had grabbed a tree for support, helpless, having a very good idea of what had just happened. Suddenly a muffled screech tore the air. Even Aiyarinmon looked to the source.  
  
T.K. had slipped around behind Casia and grabbed her. He got his hand over her mouth just in time, but she foiled this plan by biting him--hard. The digidestined and Aiyarinmon had heard T.K. yell, although Casia had whirled and pressed HER hand against HIS mouth. She flung him to the ground and planted one foot on his stomach.  
  
"T.K.!" Iori, Miyako, and Kari yelled. Daisuke and Ken had both run to Kyra and were attempting to yank her away from the giant spider, but having no luck. Siko was still clinging to the tree. Her purple glasses had slipped from her face. Suddenly Shinna slithered over, wrapped her tail around the glasses, and squeezed, cracking them.  
  
Kari, Miyako, and Kyra--now with a tear in her sleeve--had to do a very strange dance as what looked like splinters of glass rained down around them. One caught Miyako on the side of her head. She gasped, blood soaking her lavender hair and turning it a very strange color.  
  
Gatomon and Aquillamon began to glow.  
  
"Gatomon!"  
  
"Aquillamon!"  
  
"Jogress digivolve to...Silphymon!"  
  
The human-like digimon appeared to be a cross between Angewomon and Aquillamon. Silphymon started forward. "DarkDestined, we WILL defeat you!" she called, voice a mix of Gatomon and Aquillamon.  
  
Meanwhile, the splinters had fallen in large shards on T.K. and Casia. The girl was forced to leap away to avoid death by cuts. T.K. followed her, forgetting their opposing roles in a race to stay alive. He yanked her under a tree. She gasped, staring up at him. Suddenly a loud crack split the air. Casia shrieked and yanked at T.K.'s arm. He didn't move, staring in something like shock at what was so obviously true.  
  
The tree was falling.  
  
"Angemon!"  
  
"Ankylomon!"  
  
"Jogress digivolve to...Shakkoumon!"  
  
Shakkoumon was a strange silver digimon that looked a bit like a giant statue. He growled angrily and shot down, yanking T.K. and Casia away with muscular arms. Casia shrieked as his grip on her tightened. She was a hostage.  
  
Meanwhile, the rain of glass continued. Siko, unable to see to dodge, felt sudden pain shoot up and down her arms. Something hit her; she realized from her heightened senses that it was Aiyarinmon. She cried out and felt Shinna press against her legs, obviously terrified. Suddenly she blinked and felt something very strange. Then it was gone, and her world was dark once again.  
  
"Riamon!"  
  
"Oshanimon!"  
  
"Jogress digivolve to...Neodramon!" The tall dragon--one eye blue, the other white--swiped at Shinna, who screeched.  
  
Casia twisted, crying out in pain as Shakkoumon's grip on her tightened. Something flickered in Ken's eyes as Daisuke dragged him to his feet. Pain? Fright? He stared at Casia, writhing angrily.  
  
Love?  
  
"Stingmon!"  
  
"ExVeemon!"  
  
"Jogress digivolve to...Paildramon!"  
  
Shinna ducked through Neodramon's legs. Paildramon was there to stop her from reaching her DarkDestined. Aiyarinmon, meanwhile, jumped at Shakkoumon and was halted by Silphymon. The lilac glass stopped falling abruptly.  
  
Casia's dark eyes filled with tears. "Please, you're hurting me!" she cried desperately. Shakkoumon glared at her, even as T.K. and Iori came over.  
  
"She tried to save my life. Let her go," T.K. said. Iori looked up at his friend with confused green eyes.  
  
"No," Angemon's voice said.  
  
Ankylomon continued, "We need her to triumph over the DarkDestined."  
  
This time it was Miyako who saw the flicker in Ken's eyes.  
  
Shinna was small. She managed to slide under Paildramon and towards Shakkoumon. Silphymon and Neodramon blocked her way.  
  
Aiyarinmon slammed a spiked leg into Silphymon's head. She screamed as blood poured from the wound. Neodramon cried, "Star Flame!" Aiyarinmon dodged and sent a dark blue wave at the dragon as Shinna finally reached her partner and de-evolved.  
  
"Sorry, Ken-chan," the girl said musically as her crest began to glow. "It appears I don't need YOU to go hyper."  
  
"Chieko, hyper-evolve to...Kalrani!"  
  
Kalrani, who looked like an ice-blue dragon with large yellow wings, spat fire angrily in the direction of Paildramon. Suddenly she took off, wings spinning up a whir of air. Casia coughed; suddenly a long black leg wrapped around her waist, and she was sitting on Aiyarinmon. She coughed again as Kalrani reappeared, digging her talons deep into Shakkoumon's arm. The digimon split in two as he dedigivolved. Kalrani disappeared again, only to swoop down and force Silphymon to break. Aiyarinmon took out Paildramon as Kalrani kicked Neodramon. Aiyarinmon stabbed the dragon in the back with his claw, forcing her to dedigivolve. Kalrani de-evolved as well.  
  
"Farewell, digidestined, and hope you enjoy what little remains of your lives!" Aiyarinmon called. Chieko snaked up one leg and into Casia's arms. The spider took off, Casia shooting one last glance at the digidestined.  
  
Ken laughed lightly. "Jogress," he said. "They may have won the battle...but I think WE have won the war."  
  
Daisuke lightly smacked his friend. "That's the Kaizer we all know!" he said. "What makes you think that?"  
  
Ken held out a tag and crest.  
  
"It came to me. I've seen it before, remember, Wormmon?"  
  
The little worm nodded. "We tried to steal it. And failed." He shot a very happy look at the other digidestined. "That, my friends...is the Crest of Destiny."


	16. An Enemy of Old

PART SIXTEEN: AN ENEMY OF OLD  
  
Riding Aiyarinmon out of the forest, Casia suddenly found herself remembered the strange way that her cousin had called her 'love'. A hint of nostalgia touched her mind. She nearly laughed, for two reasons.  
  
Chieko watched her friend. ~Oh, Casia. If only you knew...~  
  
  
  
Ken looked out at the city below, for the first time thinking about how little he knew about Casia. She said that she lived near Siko and Kyra, but that would mean she was right on his block...and she always came from several blocks away when she wanted to visit. He frowned, raising his gaze to the apartment complex across the street with its electric piano. So often he would stand out here with Osamu and some of his friends and listen to its owner play, before the accident, before the Kaizer...that had been before they had moved to this building, even, when one of his best friends lived here. He shifted his gaze to the building on the right, where his neighbor was standing. She waved as she tended her flowers. On his left the roof was bare. He shivered. It was so ghostly...  
  
As darkness fell on Odaiba, he heard a distinct scrape from the opposite side of the roof. The owner of the piano was coming out to play. He had never met her, only talked to her. He didn't even know her name...then, he spoke to the neighbor on the right all the time, and he didn't know HER name, either...  
  
The songwriter called hello. Ken grinned and yelled back. Then he looked to his left. A figure stood at the side of the roof, leaning on the rail, silhouetted in the dim light. Ken watched the figure for a moment before turning to his friend across the street. He gently twirled the Crest of Destiny in time with the rhythm she was playing. He couldn't hear her voice; he never could. The crest caught a flicker of light.  
  
There isn't much I haven't shared  
  
With you, along the road  
  
And through it all, there'd always be  
  
Tomorrow's episode  
  
Suddenly that isn't true  
  
There's another avenue  
  
Beckoning  
  
The Great Divide  
  
Ask no questions  
  
Take no sides  
  
Who's to say who's right or wrong  
  
Whose course is braver run?  
  
All I know is all we had  
  
Is over, said and done.  
  
Ken sighed as he recognized the melody from an American song Casia loved..."Friends Never Say Good-Bye". Abruptly the melody switched. Now Ken heard the low voice from next door singing in English. He barely managed to keep up with the lyrics; his English wasn't THAT good. Britney Spears, he realized. ANOTHER American singer.  
  
She's so lucky, she's a star  
  
But she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinkin'  
  
If there is nothing missing in my life  
  
Then why do these tears come at night?  
  
Lost in an image, in a dream  
  
But there's no one there to wake her up  
  
And the world is spinning and she keeps on winning  
  
But tell me, what happens when it stops?  
  
Ken shook his head as the woman across the street began to play an unfamiliar song. He turned and walked into his house.  
  
~"Lucky" and "Friends Never Say Good-Bye". How did she know how I was feeling?~  
  
  
  
Across the street, the woman smiled as she watched the former Digimon Kaizer walk into his apartment. ~If you only knew...~ She looked to the man on the roof next to Ken's. ~And you...how can you possibly know anything of this adventure?~  
  
The woman returned to her comfortable apartment, thinking harder than she had thought in the last several weeks.  
  
  
  
The man turned. He suspected that the young Ichijouji boy wouldn't ever be able to identify him...after all, Angel Land's change into the Dark Ocean had made its inhabitants at the time unrecognizable.  
  
~So sad, Kenny boy.~  
  
He walked slowly into his own apartment.  
  
~So sad that you wouldn't recognize the adult version of me.~  
  
He pulled out a briefcase, eyes glinting darkly.  
  
~Your brother.~  
  
  
  
Miyako sighed and peered into the disk drive of Iori's computer. "What did Daisuke do, again?"  
  
The boy blushed, dark eyes embarassed. "I didn't MEAN to stick my chocolate bar in there...really, Iori, I--"  
  
The younger boy laughed. "Dai, don't worry. Miyako can fix any--HUH?"  
  
Two maps appeared, side by side. One was Digiworld, where two flashing black dots signified Tashino and Casia's positions. The other was Odaiba. Eight red flashes showed the digidestined. There was also a dark blue one near Ken, and a green one across the street, not to mention two other black ones for Asha and Erek. Turning his eyes back to Digiworld, Daisuke found another black dot--Ai.  
  
And a red one.  
  
They hadn't miscounted--so who was this extra digidestined?  
  
  
  
Ken yawned as he walked out of his room, tucking the Crest of Destiny into his shirt. He would see Casia today. Maybe he could talk her into--into what he didn't know.  
  
In class he was incredibly tired and bored. All of the new digidestined but Siko and Iori had gone to a chat room most of the night, debating the issue of the extra digidestined. Ken had been one of the more active participants, insisting over and over that it had to be the Guardian of Destiny. He sighed. Casia wasn't in school.  
  
He glanced at the Crest of Destiny. There was a spiral surrounded by a drop of water, a leaf, a lightning bolt, and a flame--the elements. Izzy was going to find out what the significance of this was and meet the younger destined at Odaiba Elementary after school.  
  
Ken hoped that would help.  
  
  
  
Iori flopped onto his bed, staring at the papers in his hands. They were the transcript of the chat he hadn't been at--Miyako had printed it for him. He pulled the one loose piece from the back--Izzy's research. The older boy hadn't been able to talk to them--he was late for a computer course at the local college--but he had emailed them all. Iori started to read the email.  
  
Dear Iori,  
  
My research was a big disappointment. As close as I can tell, this has to do with Kyoto and the four element gods. There are two legends--one Digiworld, one Real World--that coincide. They state that there are four element stones that will raise a light to drive out the darkness.  
  
I don't know how this will help you--but I hope it will. I'm late and I have to email Kari and the Gemini. Ja ne.  
  
BTW--there are also about twenty prophecies about the Gemini in Digiworld. I haven't read them all yet, but I will try.  
  
Sorry I couldn't meet with you guys. I forgot this extra study course was today.  
  
Ja ne again,  
  
Koushiro Izumi  
  
Iori sighed and turned his attention to the monologue of the chat. Luckily, Miyako had been the first on, so she had everything.  
  
[Lilac_Deity has logged on]  
  
Lilac_Deity: is ne1 here?  
  
[VioletBlue has logged on]  
  
VioletBlue: Hi Lilac! Like your SN.  
  
Lilac_Deity: thanx violetblue. r u ken?  
  
VioletBlue: You bet.  
  
Lilac_Deity: kewl. i like ur sn 2  
  
VioletBlue: No one else is here.  
  
Lilac_Deity: :P  
  
[i_am_me has logged on]  
  
i_am_me: Hi Miyako and Ken!  
  
VioletBlue: Is it that obvious?  
  
i_am_me: Yup.  
  
Lilac_Deity: ur daisuke  
  
i_am_me: Hai. I wanted i_am_god but it was taken.  
  
Lilac_Deity: ur just a little 2  
  
VioletBlue: You didn't finish your sentence.  
  
Lilac_Deity: i hit enter 2 soon. 2 boastful @ dai  
  
[Zodiac_Children has logged on]  
  
Zodiac_Children: K--Hi Ken. Who's that?  
  
Lilac Deity: miyako.  
  
i_am_me: I am me!  
  
Zodiac_Children: S--We couldn't tell.  
  
VioletBlue: Hi Siko and Kyra!  
  
[KataGirlTigress has logged on]  
  
KataGirlTigress: Hi Lilac! Hi Zodiac! Ken, Daisuke, is that you?  
  
[TheHope has logged on]  
  
TheHope: Hey Kari! Hey everyone else! Iori's not coming, right?  
  
Lilac_Deity: no this is every1. hey i can change ur sns to ur real names if u want  
  
VioletBlue: You can what?  
  
Lilac_Deity: watch  
  
Miyako: did that work?  
  
Daisuke: I AM NOT ME ANYMORE!  
  
T.K.: Do everyone a favor and shut up, Mr. I-am-me.  
  
Ken: Awesome, Miyako! How'd you do that?  
  
Miyako: i used ur ip#s 2 switch 2 what i want.  
  
Siko/Kyra: What's our name?  
  
Siko/Kyra: K--why am I second?!  
  
Kari: Hehe.  
  
T.K. Can we get down to business?  
  
Miyako: sure. we have 2. thats the whole point of this chat isnt it  
  
Daisuke: Yeah...  
  
Ken: Maybe you should start with what happened.  
  
Kari: That would be helpful.  
  
Daisuke: I want to be i am me again.  
  
Miyako: no. well neway we were fixing ioris comp & then we got 2 maps and there was 1 extra red dot meaning a dd  
  
Ken: D-what?  
  
Miyako: digidestined  
  
T.K.: Oh.  
  
Ken: Well, it's obvious who it was.  
  
Siko/Kyra: S--it is? K--ditto.  
  
Ken: Yeah. The Guardian of Destiny.  
  
Kari: But then we should know who it is.  
  
Miyako: i will go 2 the digiworld 2 check it out if u want but ur sns would come back.  
  
Daisuke: OK.  
  
T.K.: You spelled 'okay' wrong.  
  
Daisuke: Shut up, T.F.  
  
T.K.: My name is right in front of you!  
  
Kari: Miyako, if you leave won't Iori not get the rest of the chat?  
  
Ken: I can print the rest, or at least till Mi' gets back.  
  
Siko/Kyra: S--that's a good idea.  
  
Miyako: bye then & i will come bak  
  
[Lilac_Deity has logged off.]  
  
VioletBlue: She spelled "back" wrong.  
  
i_am_me: I am me again!  
  
TheHope: Shut your fat mouth. There are important things to talk about.  
  
VioletBlue: It has to be Destiny. Who else?  
  
This went on for three pages before Miyako returned. Iori skimmed them before finding Miyako again.  
  
[Lilac_Deity has logged on]  
  
[Zodiac_Children has logged off]  
  
[Azalea has logged on]  
  
[Neo_Dragon has logged on]  
  
Azalea: Hello!  
  
Neo_Dragon: So you really think that he's a neo-Hitler?  
  
VioletBlue: Def. Dude, how could he not be?  
  
Lilac_Deity: what the hey?  
  
i_am_me: Sorry, Miyako. We couldn't resist.  
  
Lilac_Deity: daisuke apologizing  
  
VioletBlue: I am me!  
  
Lilac_Deity: ken acting like daisuke  
  
Azalea: I am blind!  
  
Neo_Dragon: I am!  
  
Azalea: I am!  
  
Neo_Dragon: Me!  
  
Lilac_Deity: siko and kyra on different SNs & fighting????  
  
Azalea: Me!!!  
  
TheHope: Guess who we are, Miyako!  
  
Azalea: We did get something done, just so you know.  
  
Lilac_Deity: azalea is kyra  
  
Azalea: Kyra and...?  
  
Lilac_Deity: siko. then ur 1 person  
  
Azalea: Yup!  
  
[Azalea has logged off]  
  
[Zodiac_Children has logged on]  
  
Lilac_Deity: then neo dragon is probably kari  
  
Neo_Dragon: Wrong!  
  
Lilac_Deity: ?  
  
i_am_me: I'm Kari.  
  
[i_am_me has logged off]  
  
[KataGirlTigress has logged on]  
  
Iori sighed. The rest of the page was filled with comings and goings until Miyako finally fixed the names. The next ten pages continued with Daisuke and Ken arguing quite agressively before Miyako managed to explain that no humans had recently been to the Digiworld except for her and Casia.  
  
Iori shoved the papers under his bed. This was very bad.  
  
If they couldn't find the new digidestined, how would they survive?  
  
  
  
Daisuke moaned as he sat up, his head aching. He looked around. Miyako, Iori, Kari, T.K., Kyra, Siko, their digimon...that was everyone. Ken was playing in a soccer game against a team from Kyoto and couldn't make it.  
  
"Well, well, well. It took you long enough."  
  
Miyako almost screamed. Seemingly from no where, Casia had appeared, eyes dark and cruel, black dress whipping in a sudden wind. The girl's tag floated on the breeze, flashing the symbol of Body at them. Sakiiura growled low from where she stood, next to her DarkDestined.  
  
"Sakiiura!"  
  
Flames spiraled from the dragon's mouth, straight at Kari. She shrieked and jumped away. The flames drew a line through the grass, heading for Iori, who ran hard. Kyra swung herself out of the way as more fire came towards her. Siko jumped out of the warpath. T.K. paused, staring at her as she rolled away from another flaming attack.  
  
~I thought she was the blind one...~  
  
Riamon and Oshanimon appeared, followed by Digmon, Flamedramon, and Halsemon. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon were close behind. Suddenly Casia laughed. She hopped onto Sakiiura's back and flew away, giggling merrily as the digidestined sat down, exhausted already from their short workout.  
  
"Siko, you can see," T.K. accused.  
  
As Kyra gasped, her twin hung her head. "It's true. Only in Digiworld." She pulled the purple glasses low and stared at them with blue eyes. "See, I was right. It IS the glasses." She shoved them back on. "I only realized it when Chieko snapped them. I saw through one of the pieces."  
  
"You didn't tell me." Kyra's eyes were sad.  
  
"I couldn't. I just felt like I couldn't. I'm sorry, Kyra-kun."  
  
"It's all right, Siko-kun."  
  
"If you Zodiac Children are done with this little thing, we would like to move on," Daisuke said in annoyance. "The point of being here is to find Myatta and Teiru, remember?"  
  
  
  
They never did find the two creators of the Digital World. Kyra and Siko became very giggly after awhile and refused to tell the others what was wrong. Siko just whispered, "You'll see!" The Odaiba Elementary digidestined fell into bed and fell asleep. However, the three Tamachi destined had other plans...  
  
Miyako was about to leave for school the next morning--early, so that she could talk to the others before class--when her phone rang. She dropped onto her bed and answered with a rather grumpy hello.  
  
"Hi, is this Miyako Inoue?"  
  
"Of course. Kyra?"  
  
"Yeah. Listen, Ken and Siko and me can't go to--STOP it--Digiworld today. Tell the--STOP it, I said!--the others, 'kay?"  
  
"What--why?"  
  
"Something--don't DO that! Ken--"  
  
"Um, don't you have to get to school soon? I know I do."  
  
"No, we've been excused special. Listen, you and the others--come to the Tamachi auditorium tonight at sev--SIKO, CLOSE THE DOOR! No, don't crash into it--"  
  
"Sorry, Kyr--"  
  
"Ow! Ow! Kyra, get off the phone and help us!"  
  
"Kyra, just what is going on?" Miyako asked suspiciously.  
  
"Seven, the auditorium, Tamachi. See you there! Bye!"  
  
And the lavender-haired girl was left with the buzzing of the dial tone and very confused thoughts.  
  
  
  
"And they didn't say why?" Daisuke asked as the five digidestined stood outside the door of Tamachi Elementary ten minutes before seven.  
  
"They refused." Miyako sighed and ran her fingers lightly through her hair. "Don't ask why. We'll see in a minute. Let's go in."  
  
As the five filed into the auditorium, they were surprised to see it filled with people. Suddenly a girl with glossy blond hair whose name tag read 'Chantal' grabbed Kari's arm. "Are you Ken and the twins' friends?" When Miyako nodded, she went on, "They got you reserved seats. You're pretty lucky kids."  
  
"Um--Chantal--may I ask what this is?" T.K. questioned as they sat down in the front row.  
  
"Special instructions from the disabled Okiayu," she said darkly. "Wait and see, public schoolers."  
  
The lights dimmed.  
  
It was a play that starred Kyra and Ken, as well as two other kids. Siko noticed her friends and gave a small wave, winking from behind her new purple glasses, when she appeared in scene four, leading about ten dogs on leashes. The strange dialogue from that morning was revealed in the hyperactive canines.  
  
Iori in particular enjoyed the show, which was about a teenage boy--Ken-- and his sister starting a charity home for dogs and then saving it from financial ruin. The reason he liked it was Ninyamon and Akarumon, who played two very special dogs that led the others in defeating the evil bank robbers towards the end. Suddenly Kyra glanced offstage, gasped, and gave Ken's arm a desperate pull.  
  
Just as a ball of flame set the stage on fire.  
  
Daisuke and T.K. simultaneously jumped up, followed quickly by Iori, Miyako, and Kari. "The dogs!" Kari cried. "We have to get them out of here!"  
  
The boys jumped onto the stage and ran to Kyra and Ken while Kari and Miyako whirled and headed for the animals, who were barking quite loudly. "Casia!" Miyako yelled above the shrieks that were quickly filling the auditorium.  
  
Kari coughed and wrapped her arms around a Dalmatian puppy. "Hurry, we have to get going or we'll never make it!"  
  
The two girls pulled their coats off and flung them to the ground. Miyako gently tossed one puppy on and said worriedly, "They aren't gonna be enough- -"  
  
"Here." Siko appeared beside them, carrying her costume and coat. She tossed them onto the pile. "Kyra's coming now. Neodramon, Paildramon, and Shakkoumon are fighting Aiyarinmon."  
  
More clothing items joined the digidestined's as helpful audience members noticed what was happening and the fire danced higher. Kari and Miyako sent nearly a dozen dogs on their way to Kyra, who put leashes on them and held on. "One more!" she shouted.  
  
"One more?" Siko gasped out. "Which one?"  
  
"Rosa!"  
  
"Rosalia," Siko muttered. "Rosa! ROSA!"  
  
"What kind?" Kari asked, coughing again.  
  
"Mix."  
  
"The--the cute little black puppy?" Miyako asked.  
  
"Yes, why?"  
  
"She's right over there."  
  
All three other girls screamed when they saw little Rosa. She barked pitifully. Having climbed to avoid the flames, she now sat atop a long beam.  
  
A long WOODEN beam.  
  
Daisuke and Iori ran up to them. "Ken and T.B. are helping over there," the older boy said. "All the dogs safe?"  
  
Siko shook her head, pointing. "Rosa's too adventurous," she said desperately. "She was biting at my boots this morning and she tried to run out the door whenever she got a chance."  
  
Kyra hopped onto the stage. "Rosalia!" she shouted. "Rosa, come down here!"  
  
T.K. darted over. "Up there?" At the group nod he said, "Got a plan. We have to hurry--they attacked now for a reason. I don't know what, but there is a reason. Kyra, you and the other girls make that pile as soft as you can. Daisuke, you're with me. Iori, there's a fire extinguisher over there. Keep the blaze in check over here. If you can."  
  
"What do you mean, if I can?"  
  
"One, it's very big. Two, the fight over there is making it stronger. Hurry!"  
  
He grabbed hold of the ladder. "Dai, come on!" he shouted, coughing and starting to climb. The digidestined leader followed quickly, understanding that now was no time to complain.  
  
Patamon, Veemon, Akarumon, and Ninyamon suddenly tumbled onto the stage floor beside their partners. "Gotta do something," Ninyamon moaned.  
  
Siko nodded and then yelped as T.K. slipped. Daisuke cursed as he nearly fell himself. "DO something! You have to do something!"  
  
"Patamon, armor-digivolve to...Pegasusmon! Flying Hope!"  
  
"Veemon, armor-digivolve to...Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage!"  
  
"Akarumon, digivolve to...Oshanimon!"  
  
"Ninyamon, digivolve to...Riamon!"  
  
The four dashed back to the fight, all except Oshanimon, who hovered under Daisuke and T.K. as they clambered up the bars. Miyako and Kari ran to the other side of the stage to find their little friends and see if they could also digivolve. Meanwhile, the twins stared up at the boys, who had reached the metal platform.  
  
T.K. eyed the beam. "Daisuke, can we get out on that without falling?"  
  
Rosa barked. Daisuke shuddered. "No way, no how. We're eleven-year-olds, T.R., and that thing won't hold both of us."  
  
"One of us?"  
  
"Can't Oshanimon get Rosa?"  
  
T.K. rolled his eyes. "Oshanimon can't grab her with those claws, and Rosa is only a dog. We have to get her ourselves."  
  
"Having thumbs is a curse."  
  
T.K. sighed and crawled out onto the beam, feeling it shake under his weight. "Oh, damn, damn," he cursed angrily. "I can't do this."  
  
"I probably weigh more than you!"  
  
Finally, when Rosa gave voice to a pained howl, Daisuke walked carefully out onto the beam himself. The wood shuddered, and Daisuke stumbled backwards. T.K. yelped and caught his friend as Rosa howled miserably.  
  
"Hawkmon, armor-digivolve to...Shurimon! The Samurai of Sincerity!"  
  
"Gatomon, armor-digivolve to...Nefertimon! The Angel of Light!"  
  
Above the flames, the two boys saw the flying digimon race at Aiyarinmon. Rosa barked loudly. Daisuke grit his teeth and sidled out onto the beam.  
  
"Be careful!" T.K. said.  
  
Iori called up to them. "Hurry!"  
  
Daisuke hurried, dropping to his knees and crawling along the beam, feeling it shake beneath him. He wrapped one arm around Rosa as a scream cut the air from somewhere around the battle.  
  
"No! Don't!"  
  
"Kari!" everyone yelled. Siko and Kyra ran towards the battle. Daisuke slowly began to back up, keeping a tight hold on the small black pup. T.K. placed one foot on the beam and stretched out, taking Rosa from Daisuke and putting her on the platform.  
  
The beam cracked.  
  
Daisuke screamed and grabbed the edge of the platform as the wood tumbled into the fire. T.K. grabbed the other boy's wrists and dragged him onto the platform. Both lowered themselves onto Oshanimon, shaking from their scare. T.K. reached up to grab Rosa, who was whining pitifully.  
  
The other digidestined met them at the foot of the ladder, looking terrified and sad. Miyako was holding Wormmon, who had his eyes closed. Tears glistened on Kari's face as she picked up Rosa. Siko clasped a leash onto Rosa and jumped off the stage to put her with the rest of the dogs. The others followed.  
  
"Someone's not here," Daisuke said, glancing around.  
  
"It's Ken," Kari whispered, burying her face in her hands as Wormmon nodded weakly from Miyako's arms. "He's been captured again, by Casia...and...and..."  
  
Kyra shook her head and made a movement as though cracking a whip. "And we're gonna see if the former Kaiser is a match for the new and improved Digimon Empress."  
  
  
  
"So let me get this straight," Ken said slowly, pacing back and forth in front of Casia. "You're the Digimon Empress."  
  
"Mm-hmm."  
  
"And you want me to be the Kaiser again."  
  
"Mm-hmm."  
  
"Cass, I still have nightmares about that! I could never be like that again- -"  
  
"Please. I can't do this without you."  
  
"Exactly. Kudasai, Casia, don't make me. I can't, I can't do that. I would never get over it. And them--the digidestined--they would never want to be my friends again."  
  
She smiled, brown eyes glinting dangerously. "Are they your friends?"  
  
"Yes, of course. And Wormmon--what about Wormmon? I mean, I could never betray him again--what if he ends up dead? What if--"  
  
"But Ken-chan," she whispered silkily. "I thought you would do anything to be with me."  
  
He stared at her through narrowed eyes. "You're a little temptress, aren't you?"  
  
"But of course."  
  
Ken sighed. "Fine. I...I guess I will. But please, please don't make me use those stupid Spirals and Rings again..."  
  
She grinned and tossed him a whip. "No, silly. You don't even need a costume, really. Just the shades and the whip, all right? And the cape, if you want it."  
  
"All right," he whispered.  
  
~Because I would do anything for you, Casia. Even this...~  
  
~Anything.~ 


	17. Back to the Beginning

PART SEVENTEEN: BACK TO THE BEGINNING  
  
"Ken-chan!"  
  
"Ken!"  
  
"Hey, Ken, where are you?"  
  
The digidestined, each on board one of the flying digimon, flew patterns across the Digiworld, searching for their friend. Digmon followed below, while Iori sat behind T.K. on Pegasusmon. Kari was once again carrying Wormmon. Miyako cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "KEN!"  
  
No answer. They hadn't really been expecting one.  
  
"Platinum Fist!"  
  
Raidramon shied away from the silvery beam, nearly knocking Daisuke off. Nefertimon was there, however, allowing Kari to steady her friend. Daisuke grinned rather stupidly at her, then shook his head and looked back.  
  
"SkullDrimogemon!" Pegasusmon yelled. "A mole-like digimon seemingly made out of only a skeleton with a metallic helmet! Watch out for his Drill Claws and Platinum Fist attacks!"  
  
"Drill Claws!" SkullDrimogemon yelled. As the steel claws shot past Riamon, narrowly missing her, the digidestined landed.  
  
"Who sent you, the so-called Empress?" Kyra asked, hands on her hips.  
  
"The Kaiser did," SkullDrimogemon said in a flat monotone.  
  
"The Kaiser?!" the digidestined echoed.  
  
"Not--" Daisuke whispered.  
  
"He would never--" Iori started.  
  
"That's impossible!" Miyako cried.  
  
"Ken would never go back to the darkness!" Kari said.  
  
T.K. lowered his eyes. "Never. He promised us."  
  
"Ken?" Siko said softly.  
  
"No..." Wormmon whispered desperately.  
  
Kyra closed her deep azure eyes, hands clenching into fists. "Never! Ken would never--I know him better than that--"  
  
"We ALL thought we did," Gatomon said, eyes suddenly fierce. "We trusted him. We trusted her."  
  
"We trusted them," T.K. murmured, his hands closing much as Kyra's had, only more angrily. "We trusted those betraying, lying, power-seeking bakas!"  
  
Iori stared at his Jogress partner, emotions not visible through his green eyes. His thoughts swirled around so fast he couldn't see straight--  
  
"Drill Claws!"  
  
The youngest digidestined screamed once as he crumpled on the spot, blood staining the ground as the steel blades retracted, now shiny with blood. The girls ran to him, shouting out his name, even as Digmon cracked the ground with a powerful Rock Cracking attack. Oshanimon and Riamon dedigivolved, then went instantly into their Jogress form. Gatomon and Aquillamon did the same. Digmon was too focused on destroying the beast who had hurt his digidestined to dedigivolve, even for a second. Daisuke hopped awkwardly off of Raidramon, eyes lowered. Ken wasn't here to help...  
  
"Trust."  
  
"Such a silly word."  
  
The digidestined glanced up to see the current evils, the rulers of the Digiworld, riding on an Airdramon. Ken looked much as he did normally, only wearing his sunglasses, carrying a whip, and having a royal blue cloak streaming out behind him. Casia was much different, though. She wore a deep purple uniform covered with a blue cloak identical to Ken's, with Chieko for a belt. Her dark eyes were cold behind glasses tinted light red. She also carried a whip. Her hair was also different--two slim braids hung in front of her shoulders, while the rest of her hair was gathered into a loose ponytail.  
  
"Trust is NOT a silly word! It goes hand-in-hand with friendship!" Raidramon growled.  
  
Ken arched an eyebrow, running a pale hand through his long blue hair. "I expected more. You're all pathetic."  
  
"So are you, enslaving...helpless digimon..." Iori choked out.  
  
Casia laughed. "Don't hold your breath; that would kill you for certain. We aren't enslaving them, just taking the ones that want to fight and giving them a tiny boost. No Spirals, no Rings, no Spires."  
  
Kyra jumped away from another Drill Claws attack. "We thought you were our friends!" she screamed. "We believed in you, both of you, no matter what!"  
  
Ken shook his head, a malicious grin etched on his features. "SkullDrimogemon, they've had enough. You can come back and finish the job later."  
  
Wormmon slipped out of Kari's arms and crawled forward. "Ken-chan..."  
  
"Shut up and always call me Master!" the boy snapped. Wormmon whimpered.  
  
"Ken-chan, please don't do this. I...I can't bear it..."  
  
"Which is why you sniveling cowards can stick together." Airdramon landed as SkullDrimogemon dug back into the earth, which closed up after him. Ken jumped off, uncoiling his whip and gently tapping it against his leg. "Punishment was always good for you."  
  
The whip lashed out. Wormmon whimpered again, but stood his ground. Kari gasped and moved backwards to where Siko and Miyako were caring for Iori.  
  
Casia hopped down to stand beside the Kaiser. "Chieko was willing. Won't you be?"  
  
Wormmon managed to say no before Ken hit him again. He fell over, then rolled to his feet, shivering visibly. "K--"  
  
"Master."  
  
"Ca--"  
  
"And Empress." Her whip stretched over the distance to give him a sharp smack.  
  
"Master...Empress..."  
  
Ken sighed, coiled his whip, and clipped it onto his belt. "That'll do for now. Until we meet again, you pitiful excuse for a partner and you pathetic pretext for digidestined."  
  
The monarchs easily boarded their Airdramon and vanished, Casia waving sardonically back and dangling something from a finger.  
  
The Crest of Destiny.  
  
  
  
Iori was confined to the hospital for two weeks after his encounter with SkullDrimogemon--or after the attack of an armed mugger, which was what the digidestined led everyone to believe.  
  
For the first three nights, Miyako woke up in a cold sweat after a terrible dream about how the nine-year-old had looked, pale and contorted with pain, curled up on the sand with blood blossoming from three cuts on his shoulder. Her first impulse was always to go see Iori and laugh off her fears. ~Hey, pal, I dreamed you got hurt...glad you're okay...~ But she always remembered what had really happened before she managed to slip out on the balcony and knock on the sliding glass door that led into his bedroom.  
  
Siko and Kyra understood best. The once-blind girl came to visit Miyako on the fourth day, deep eyes sad beneath her lavender glasses.  
  
"I know you miss him. Think how I feel whenever I have to go to a session with the doctor!" she said. "Or how I'll feel when I...when...oh, God..."  
  
"What?" Miyako asked, forgetting about her best friend in an effort to help Siko.  
  
"We...haven't exactly told Mom and Dad about my glasses...and they're sending me to a school for the blind next week. There...aren't any computers."  
  
Miyako gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Can't you--"  
  
"Get out of it?" Siko laughed bitterly, hugging her knees to her chest and letting her auburn hair out of its ponytail so it swept against her thin shoulders. "If I said I could see, either they would consider me a miracle and want to do all kinds of tests, or they would figure out about the glasses, take them away, and I would still have to go while they tried to figure out the mystery."  
  
"You're a digidestined! You can't--"  
  
"I can and I am. I'm so sorry that I can't be here when all of you need me, but I can't help it. Ninyamon is staying with Piximon. I'll be gone for the rest of the school year; it's just till June."  
  
Miyako shook her head. "You can't! That's...April, May, a week of June, most of this month...three months, Siko! We can't do this for that long!"  
  
"You have to."  
  
Odaiba experienced a change over the week. Overall, everything was beautiful with the coming of what promised to be a wonderful spring; however, gloom had descended, mainly on the digidestined, but on others as well.  
  
Ken was living in the Digiworld again, as was Casia, and the new reports confirmed that the Ichijoujis doubted they would ever get their son back this time. At Tamachi, the students in fifth grade were decidedly more serious; with the disappearance of Ken and Casia, Emi's drowning, Oda's eventual death, Siko's leaving, and Kyra's general manner of sorrow and burning hatred--even if they didn't know what she was so mad about--they were down in the dumps. Hana and Chantal had stopped bullying people, so Kyra had taken over that responsibility, much to Siko's dismay.  
  
And to EVERYONE'S dismay, they learned that Iori, too, was leaving them temporarily. He needed physical therapy, and was being sent to America--for the remainder of the school year. Kyra jumped at the chance to be his translator; it seemed that she had hidden the fact that she was almost bilingual, and that the twins had grown up in America.  
  
"We're down three digidestined for three months," Daisuke moaned at a meeting on Saturday morning. Kyra, Siko, and Iori had left an hour ago, with the others there to send them off. The digimon were all staying with Pixiemon for training--again.  
  
"No computers at the blind school," Miyako murmured glumly. "Iori can't, because he's in no shape to go running around fighting Ken, and Kyra has to stick with him to translate."  
  
"Anyone else leaving?" T.K. asked. "Cuz, four digidestined against Ken, Casia, and Tashino doesn't sound good. And I like the idea of three, two, or one--or none--much less."  
  
"We're staying right where we are," Kari confirmed. "We might be moving soon, just to a bigger apartment." She grinned shyly. "Tai and I can't share a room anymore, for obvious reasons."  
  
"Got it," T.K. said. "Good. Miyako?"  
  
She shook her head. "I'm staying right where I like it best."  
  
"Same," Daisuke said, tossing a soccer ball at the ceiling and catching it.  
  
"Can the four of us do this?" Kari asked.  
  
"Six, if you count Asha and Erek--"  
  
"Who can't get to the Digiworld," Kari finished. "Miyako, you know they can't. At any rate, why should DarkDestined fight evil? Fight one of their own?"  
  
  
  
"I like this," Casia said, reclining in her chair. "No, LOVE it."  
  
"I hated Spires when I was one of those destined fools," Ken said softly, tapping his fingers gently on a transparent computer keyboard. "All that's changed now."  
  
The young empress grinned. "Aren't you glad, Ken-chan? Together again. It's destiny."  
  
"It's temptation," he muttered. "Well, I was an idiot, wasn't I? This is a part of me, and I can't keep it locked up forever."  
  
"That's what I've been TRYING to show you," she said gently. "I am a DarkDestined, Ken-chan. Always and forever."  
  
He sighed heavily and dropped into a chair. "The good Chingomon have a small army now. A dozen of them."  
  
"So? There's hundreds of evils, plus Alizamon when she gets back."  
  
He frowned then. "I was thinking, though. When they die--except for Alizamon, Aurora, and Rob--they can't come back. So what's Ai doing out of the DigiEgg?"  
  
Casia shrugged, yanking the ponytail out of her hair and letting it swish down over her back. "Does it matter?"  
  
"What if...the rest CAN come back? There's more good Chingomon than you know, Cass. Trust me. I had eighty-eight percent of this world under control once, remember?"  
  
Chieko hissed from her position on the arm of Casia's chair. She flicked her tongue out and then in again, pointing her tail at the screens. Ken glanced up, eyes cold behind his tinted shades.  
  
"They're here."  
  
  
  
Miyako coughed as the four remaining digidestined traveled towards Aurora's stronghold. She opened her mouth to say something, then shut it as Daisuke shot her a glare that plainly said, "If you get sick, I will personally wring your neck for leaving us in this mess all alone."  
  
"Hello!" someone called happily. A moment later, in a whir of deep purple, a female Chingomon landed before the destined children. She was like no human-like 'mon they had ever seen; hair and eyes were lavender, and her short skirt and midriff top were made of jaguar skin. "I'm the doorkeeper for Miss Aurora. Call me Krisamon, okay?"  
  
"Okay," T.K. said, sending a glance to the other three and their digimon that said simply, "We need to have a private chat, very soon."  
  
Daisuke noticed the look and shook his head slightly, eyes wide as he stared at Krisamon, who waved her hand shyly and turned to lead them in.  
  
"She's trouble," the blond boy said immediately as they started walking.  
  
"You kidding, T.R.?" Daisuke asked. "If she was a human, I would be all over her!"  
  
"You are," Kari pointed out, giggling. Daisuke blushed as Miyako coughed again. Hawkmon immediately flew up to stare at his friend.  
  
"Miyako, what's wrong? Humans aren't supposed to be that color, and your eyes are...shiny."  
  
"I'm fine," Miyako said. All of her friends noted that her Ms and Ns sounded like Bs and Ds instead.  
  
"Head on home, both of you," Kari said. "We've got Veemon, Patamon, and Gatomon, we'll be fine."  
  
"Get better fast or you're dead meat!" Daisuke shouted after her as she turned to walk back to the portal.  
  
  
  
The three digidestined were in awful moods when they met in Kari's bedroom a few hours later. First of all, there was Miyako's email; she was being taken to the doctor, although her older sister thought she had bronchitis or pneumonia. Second was Kyra's email; she couldn't make the Digi-Port open on the hotel computer, although she had a lot to say about their glamorous surroundings in New York. Iori was only a phone call or a few short steps away in the next room over.  
  
Third was the worst. Aurora had no reason to distrust Krisamon except for T.K.'s suspicions, that Chingomon generally only had 'mon' on their names if they were evil, and that she looked mean to him. His argument had drawn all five of his companions to his side, but nothing they said would convince their friend that Krisamon was probably a traitor.  
  
However, each had a feeling that number four might be the most terrible factor in their war with the two Tamachi students. Ken and Casia had attacked just as they were leaving, accompanied by several evil digimon and Tashino. The stronghold was burning while the digimon exchanged blows. Daisuke and Tashino had a fistfight before the DarkDestined boy turned into Aiyarinmon. Tashino was unscathed; Daisuke had a split lip. T.K. had a scratch on his cheek, which had probably come from Ken.  
  
"Three digidestined left," Kari murmured glumly. "Three months before we see Siko, Kyra, and Iori again...Ken and Casia evil...Miyako sick..."  
  
"The Kaiser again," Daisuke said angrily. "I mean, the only word that properly describes this is damn, right? We're right back where we started, only things are a lot worse because there's less of us and they have their Hyper friends..."  
  
"Right back at the beginning," T.K. repeated. "How can things go so wrong in so little time?"  
  
  
  
And they only got worse. Miyako was diagnosed with bronchitis and would be confined to bed for at least a month. Siko, Kyra, and Iori wrote simultaneously over the D-Terminals:  
  
Dear Everyone,  
  
This is so hard, pretending to everyone around me that I can't see. It's worse without Ninyamon. How is she, and how are the rest of you? I hope we're making headway even when we're down three destined. I have to go to dinner, so one last thing: Kari, please send me some of the Gemini prophecies, all right? And if you have to send a letter, do it in Braille and code it so NO ONE BUT ME can understand it, or just use the D-Terminal-- but I warn you, it may be discovered soon; Ako, my roommate, is suspicious already.  
  
With Love,  
  
Asiko Okiayu  
  
Dear Destined,  
  
Sorry it took so long. NY is amazing! Mimi met up with me yesterday while Iori was with the therapist, and we talked a lot. She's going to email you ASAP. Anyway, the computer in my room is BROKEN--I can't use it. I need Miyako! Tell Akarumon I miss her. Has Siko written you yet?  
  
Much love from:  
  
Kyra  
  
Dear DDestined:  
  
Missing you. Hating therapy. Having trouble typing with left hand. Say hi to A-mon. Hope you're all well over there. Kyra's computer is broken so we can't do anything. Miyako, you can always call us, the number is as follows: (562) 839-7721 and ask for room number 423 or 425. I have 425.  
  
Wishing You Were Here (desperately!)  
  
Iori Hida  
  
Meanwhile, Ken and Casia were working hard at destroying the enemy. Already they had attacked Primary Village twice, Gennai's house three times, and Aurora's stronghold too often to count. They apparently trusted Krisamon to stay with Aurora and Co., although she rarely sounded the alarm before it was too late. Eventually, the entire place just--collapsed.  
  
Three long weeks after the fight against the Kaizer and the Empress began, April started. And no sooner had the first day passed than three very unexpected visitors arrived at Kari's house.  
  
"Kari, your friends are here!" Mrs. Kamiya shouted from the front door. Kari jumped off of her bed, narrowly missed landing on a box--they WERE moving, this weekend, in fact--slid in her socks, and tumbled rather unceremoniously into the hall.  
  
Three amused pairs of eyes greeted her--ice green, red, and blue. "DarkDestined," she rasped out, struggling to her feet and stumbling forward to yank the door further open.  
  
Ai made a face. "Such a nice welcome back to the Land of the Human Beings," she said sarcastically. "We're here to talk."  
  
"About what?"  
  
Asha sighed as the three stepped in. "As you know, we don't have our digivices anymore, and can't help at all. But we have to. We were wondering if you could get us to the Digital World."  
  
Kari frowned. "I don't think I can unless you have your own digivices," she replied, leading them to her room and sitting on the bottom of the bunk bed. Erek claimed the desk chair, Asha perched on the edge of the desk, and Ai sat cross-legged on the floor. "We can't try now. None of you can. School's closed and locked, Miyako's sick, Iori's in America, Kyra and Siko are gone temporarily, Daisuke isn't allowed to have a computer anymore--" All four grinned-- "T.K. is busy all week with some kind of extra credit project that needs his computer, like, constantly...and ours is packed up. Sorry."  
  
"It's okay," Erek said.  
  
Ai sighed. "I should get back."  
  
"How did you get here?"  
  
"It's a Chingomon thing."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"The only reason I came was to tell you guys that the stronghold fell. T.K. was right all along. Krisamon did it, and she's sided with Aiyarinmon."  
  
"You mean Tashino."  
  
Asha, Ai, and Erek all looked at each other. Then Asha stared at her hands. "There's something we've been holding back."  
  
Ai shivered slightly. "Aiyarinmon is in love with Casia--or who he thinks she is, at least."  
  
Kari pressed a hand against her mouth. "And?"  
  
Red eyes met brown, and Erek said calmly, "There's a glitch in the Dark Ocean, we aren't denying it--but Tashino isn't one of the ones who's coming back."  
  
Gatomon stared at the DarkDestined. "Then you're saying--"  
  
"Yup. THAT is not Tashino."  
  
Ai said, very quietly, "And Casia knows it." 


	18. Fading Light

PART EIGHTEEN: FADING LIGHTS  
  
Two weeks passed. Things in the Digital World got worse and worse; much of this was the work of Krisamon and Aiyarinmon. Ken and Casia appeared to be lying low--which scared everybody.  
  
Including Aiyarinmon.  
  
"You should be helping," he said fiercely, taking on human form and shaking her. "Look at you--I think you're going soft again."  
  
"Shut up and drive," she muttered, refusing to meet his eyes. No one could fail to notice the difference in clothing preference by the two rulers; Casia was back to her black dress and one long braid, while Ken had ditched the cape and sunglasses somewhere along the line.  
  
"Don't fail me," he said. "Or I will personally see to it that your boyfriend is dead by the next day. AND that you see him go."  
  
She was blushing deeply as he left.  
  
  
  
"Ken-chan, we've got to get out of here," she said breathlessly after explaining it all to him. "He'll kill us both. He don't care we're on the same side; unless you agree to start using dark things again, it won't be enough, and he'll kill us."  
  
Ken shook his head, indigo hair brushing against his oddly flushed cheeks. "No, Cass. Never."  
  
"We're going home. NOW."  
  
The boy genius shook his head again. "No, Cass. It's not that simple. For two reasons."  
  
"What...are they?"  
  
"One, most Chingomon are evil, they can travel between worlds at will, and...they might not just have their attacks anymore. Against attacks we might stand, if Chieko evolved. But against...oh, say, guns...none of us would stand a chance."  
  
"Guns."  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Oh, God. And?"  
  
"Well...the computers are down. Someone injected a virus into our system. The closest Digi-Port is three miles away...two miles across open ground, one through forest. We could go to the one seven miles off, through all forest, but there's a river, and we could never cross it. Not to mention that seven miles is a long way."  
  
"We'll run. Ride an Airdramon."  
  
He shot her a glance, and shivers ran up her spine as his violet-blue eyes locked with hers. "Get real, Casia. When they find out what we're doing, they would all dump us. Literally."  
  
"Run?"  
  
"Get packed, Miss Kaminara. We leave at midnight tonight."  
  
  
  
At one o'clock that night, two small forms picked their way through the trees. Each could hear their own heart beating loud in their ears. They had been seen as they ran the last few yards to cover, by none other than Krisamon herself.  
  
A bang startled the two as a nearby plant burst into flame. "Dammit, Ken, you jinxed us!" Casia shrieked as another gun blast ripped through their ears.  
  
"It isn't far, Cass--the digivice says so. Have faith in us, please!"  
  
She fell suddenly as another round of bullets went off, setting more undergrowth on fire. "I just tripped!" she called to her friend, struggling back to her feet. "It's all right, keep going!"  
  
For a few moments they ran on; then Casia fell again. Ken smacked his forehead and darted back to her, crouching beside her.  
  
"Where, Cass?"  
  
She moaned and let a hand drift down to just above her left hip. She whimpered. "It hurts, Ken-chan...it hurts so bad."  
  
"Hang in there. We'll make it." Chieko hissed from where she had fallen on the ground. Ken nodded sharply and slid one arm under Casia's knees and the other around her back, picking her up and stumbling quickly toward the Digi- Port, which blinked on. Twenty feet away...  
  
More bullets. Instinctively he dropped, laying Casia gently on the ground and turning to face the enemy, Chieko lifting her body off the ground.  
  
"No, Ken-chan..."  
  
Most of the bullets were far off, but Casia just knew that some HAD to have hit pretty darn close to the trio. Ken stumbled backwards, gasping, and held out his digivice.  
  
Blackness consumed Casia as the digital power took them home.  
  
  
  
The two children tumbled onto the floor in Ken's room, making a rather loud thud. He held his breath for a moment; no noise. It was very late, but maybe his parents were out.  
  
Very late. That was the problem. At 1:30 in the morning, no normal teenager wants to be woken by the sound of a cell phone. Mind, no normal pre-teen would be calling a teenager on a cell phone at 1:30 in the morning.  
  
But the digidestined were NOT normal kids.  
  
Ken knew, in the few minutes it took him to flick on the table lamp, get Casia into his elevated bed, and pick up the phone, that he could not call a hospital. They would ask too many questions. No. He had to call someone who would know exactly what to do, would have a very good idea of what had happened, and would be able to help.  
  
"Hello, Joe Kido speaking, may I ask what you are doing calling at 1:30 in the morning?" a voice asked sleepily. Ken sighed in relief.  
  
"Joe, it's Ken. I need your help. Casia's hurt, bad, and I can't do anything. Could you--"  
  
Joe didn't even question that the Kaiser was calling him for help. "Where are you?"  
  
"My house. I don't think my parents are home."  
  
"Okay. Look, we digidestined were having a sleepover at Tai and Kari's house anyway. Everyone's here except...who are we missing? Oh. Siko, Kyra, Miyako, and Iori."  
  
"Good. I'll meet you at the door. Please hurry."  
  
"All right. Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Ten incredibly long and anxious minutes later, Ken met three people at the door. "They insisted," Joe said as an explanation.  
  
"This is very sudden," Kari said, yawning. "I thought Casia might need another female around. I forgot Gatomon and just about everything else." She surveyed Ken. "Might I ask why--"  
  
"No," Ken said impatiently. "Come on."  
  
"You're not acting normal in any sense," Matt said, frowning slightly. "I can't believe you called us in the first place..."  
  
Ken shrugged and led his visitors up to his apartment.  
  
Once they reached the apartment, all four grew very quiet. Joe and Matt disappeared into the bedroom after getting a large supply of adhesive bandages out of the medicine cabinet. Ken sank into a chair in the living room, turning on a lamp and resting his head in his hands.  
  
"You're bleeding," Kari accused. "Your left leg looks terrible. I can't believe they didn't see you limping. I saw you."  
  
He nodded, looking up at her with violet-blue eyes screaming his pain silently. "It was dumb for me to do it," he whispered. "Chieko knows it, I think. Which reminds me...I left her in the Digiworld. We better help her soon, or Cass will have my head."  
  
Kari took one look at his right arm, on which another bloodstain was starting to show, and said, "Oh, Ken, you baka. How many?"  
  
"Five," he said wearily.  
  
"Oh, Ken," she said again, kneeling beside the chair and looking at him, brown eyes obviously worried. "Where?"  
  
He pointed silently to his leg, just below his right elbow, his left shoulder, and his left wrist. "You said five," she reminded him gently.  
  
He nodded, closing his eyes and slumping forward.  
  
"WHERE, Ken?"  
  
His hand fell to an area too close to his heart for comfort. Kari leapt up, grabbed his hands, and practically dragged him out of his chair. "Come on," she said firmly. "Your life is in danger."  
  
"Casia...is in...pain..."  
  
"Oh, Ken," Kari said yet again. "Is her pain more important than your life?"  
  
"Bein' dead ain't so bad, Kari. Not for us. Calakan is a nice world...no monsters...nice."  
  
"Oh, KEN," she said for the fourth time, shoving him toward the door of his own room and knocking sharply. When Matt opened it, she simply pushed Ken inside and turned to shut the door behind them.  
  
"Oh, Ken," Matt and Joe said almost simultaneously. Kari turned again to see that the indigo-haired boy had sunk into the computer chair, bloodstains visible on his sleeves and leg.  
  
"You tried to bandage yourself up before we got here, didn't you?" Matt asked. The boy nodded weakly. Kari sighed.  
  
"Ken, you seem to think we won't accept you back, won't help you out...but you're one of us now. We know that it was Casia doing this. And we'll take her back, never you fear."  
  
He stared at her, eyes dull. "Why...aren't Kyra and Siko here?"  
  
~He didn't know?~ "They left a month ago, with Iori, and Miyako is sick. It was down to me, Daisuke, and T.K. for awhile."  
  
He shook his head slowly. "It still is, Hikari-chan. We can't help out in this condition."  
  
"Go keep watch for his parents," Matt said gently. "We'll take care of things here."  
  
"Suuuuuuuuure, you will," someone said. Everyone looked up at Casia, who was leaning over the side of the elevated bed. She grinned. "It wasn't THAT bad. Thanks, Joe." She turned her attention to Ken. "You lied to me."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
She looked back at Joe. "Can I go home?"  
  
"Are you crazy? You'd never--"  
  
"You would be surprised," she said grimly.  
  
"Kari, go with her," Ken said softly. "Get her home okay while I get cleaned up."  
  
The two girls nodded and left. However, a moment later, Kari was back. "She won't let me come," the brunette said, hands over her eyes. "I'll go wait in the living room."  
  
"That would be nice," Matt said.  
  
However, two minutes later, the young girl saw something that scared her horribly. A car. Ken's parents' car, to be exact. They were home...  
  
She flicked off the light in the living room and ran to Ken's room, eyes closed. "Ken's mom and dad are home," she whispered heatedly. "I'm going to get going, as there's nothing I can do. Be careful and quiet."  
  
"Okay," Joe said, shutting off the light and closing the door behind her.  
  
She cursed though, when she heard a key rattle in the lock. Already? She ran down the hallway and into the first room she found. Which happened to be Ken's parents' room.  
  
"Oh, God," she muttered before squeezing into the closet.  
  
Luckily, Ken's parents' fell asleep very quickly, but she waited fifteen minutes just to make sure. Then she slipped out of the room and back into Ken's.  
  
"I take it they're asleep," Joe said simply.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"We figured you got stuck," Matt said. "And guess what? We're giving you first watch."  
  
"Watch?"  
  
"Sure. Someone has to make sure Ken survives. Besides, he has a fever. You're on until dawn, then it's TK's turn if he's free."  
  
"That's cool," Kari said. The older boys waved as they left. Kari turned to Ken. "How you feeling, Ken?"  
  
"Hot. Tired. In pain."  
  
"You want a glass of water?"  
  
"That would be nice."  
  
Kari's eyes watered as she left. What was it going to take to turn Ken back into an innocent kid again?  
  
  
  
Two days later, the fever hadn't gone down, and everyone was getting very worried. Especially Casia, who had done her best to stay out of the way. And succeeded very well.  
  
"Casia, dear," a young blond woman called. "Where have you gone?"  
  
The gold-eyed child sighed. "Here, Kal."  
  
"KaliNa, that's my name, not Kal. Stop that, Casia." The sorceress entered her charge's room.  
  
"I don't care."  
  
"Stop moping, Casia. It gets just slightly annoying when I am trying to work on finding a solution to your problem."  
  
"You had to touch me, didn't you!" Casia whirled on her guardian. "I was all right, and now I'm just a freak and I can't ever think anything else or I might...you know."  
  
KaliNa shook her head. "I'm going up on the roof to write a song."  
  
"What's the use? Ken won't be listening."  
  
"If you're so worried about the kid go see him."  
  
"No."  
  
"Casia."  
  
"No."  
  
"You love him."  
  
"No."  
  
KaliNa turned away. "Fine. But it's your lie to keep, not mine."  
  
"Is that a threat?"  
  
KaliNa's voice came back to Casia. "It could be."  
  
  
  
No one was there but Ken when Casia finally gathered up the courage to go and see him. That struck the young girl as odd, but she ignored it. "Hey, Ken-chan," she whispered to the sleeping boy. "School's out because we had a minor fire and you missed report cards. We don't get any, though. Hana flunked English and Language, and Chantal is officially the best fencer in our grade since we're gone."  
  
Silence.  
  
"So..."  
  
Casia unconsciously laid a hand on Ken's flushed cheek. "You'll be fine, Ken-chan," she whispered.  
  
Light flashed. Casia screamed and pulled away, leaving a silver handprint on Ken's face. She looked in horror from it to her hand as it faded, screamed again, and ran, passing Sora on her way out.  
  
"What was that?" Ken asked, waking as his next caretaker entered the room.  
  
"I'm not entirely sure," Sora said slowly. "We did it."  
  
"My parents know I'm back?"  
  
"Yeah, and they're staying at work, too. Just another digidestined miracle we worked."  
  
"I think I'm glad."  
  
"I think you should know what TK, Kari, and Daisuke are doing."  
  
"They aren't in Digiworld, are they? TK and Daisuke? AND Kari? Alone? In another world?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Damn, we're in trouble now."  
  
  
  
"Spread out, we're looking for a snake in a big world, remember," TK ordered. Daisuke muttered something and turned away.  
  
"Chieko!"  
  
Kari ran ahead. "Chieko?"  
  
"CHIEKO!"  
  
There was no sign of the digimon anywhere. Suddenly, a familair purple- haired figure stepped in front of them.  
  
"Hiya, guys," Krisamon greeted them. "Meet the new and improved evil army."  
  
Aiyarinmon, SkullDrimogemon, and about a dozen other digimon/Chingomon stepped out of the trees on either side. The three digidestined stood back- to-back, their digimon at their feet.  
  
After some digivolutions, pitched battle was going on everywhere. Flamedramon knocked a Chingomon girl unconscious, then whirled and delivered a Fire Rocket to SkullDrimogemon, who disintegrated. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon tied up the seven other Chingomon--except Krisamon--and then went their separate ways. After a few minutes of battle, only Aiyarinmon and Krisamon remained.  
  
"I fear we've underestimated them again," Krisamon sighed. "Villains do that fairly often." And right in-between one word and the next, she leapt forward and kneed TK in the gut.  
  
He doubled over, gasping, while she whirled and punched Kari in the mouth. The girl yelped and struck out at the Chingomon, who laughed sharply and ducked away.  
  
Daisuke was there, though, and as mad as a hornet that his "girlfriend" had been hit. He kicked the Chingomon girl's feet out from under her. By that time, TK and Kari had recovered, and helped to deliver several blows to the Digimon.  
  
Meanwhile, only a few yards away, Flamedramon, Nefertimon, and Pegasusmon were delivering a beating of their own to Aiyarinmon--who wasn't really getting hurt at all.  
  
The Digimon suddenly heard a shriek of triumph from Kari, and turned in time to see Krisamon vanish, victim of Chieko's deadly bite.  
  
"All right!" TK and Daisuke yelled in unison, punching their fists in the air. Then they turned to look at Aiyarinmon, who had almost downed Nefertimon.  
  
"We can't beat him alone," Pegasusmon yelled to them. "We need the others!"  
  
Kari ran forward as Nefertimon dedigivolved. "Gatomon!" she screamed, picking up her partner and holding her close. She didn't even see it when Aiyarinmon raised one leg to strike her...  
  
"Kari!" two voices cried, and she fell over as TK and Daisuke plowed into her. The spike narrowly missed all three of them. However, their partners had taken advantage of the spider-digimon's preoccupation, and all three had combined their attacks into one large, glowing ball of energy, which shot down and slammed into him. He fell forward, suddenly becoming human again.  
  
"You win," he said simply. "I'll be dead in a while." His eyes closed. "Please go away now."  
  
"Who are you, really?" Kari asked, startling her friends.  
  
He reopened his eyes. "Well, some people called me Ryo Akiyama once. I was a guardian of the Digiworld, too. Then I died...and got the ability to shape-change. Don't tell Ken! He was my best friend, then..."  
  
TK managed a weak nod. "Okay, so...why did you become evil?"  
  
"Casia," he said simply. "We met once, while I was still working for Alizamon." He coughed. "I fell in love with her. Then the opportunity came to bring her back to me...so I took it. Ken was just a bonus. I liked knowing my two best friends again..." Another cough. "...for a little while."  
  
Daisuke managed a nod as well. "Did they...did they know?"  
  
Ryo shook his head. "Ken didn't. I think that Casia did. I know that Chieko did." He turned his head to look at the snake. "Forgive me?"  
  
"We all forgive you, Ryo," Wormmon murmured. The digidestined jumped; they hadn't known that Wormmon was here. "I will always forgive you. You were one of my first friends. Ken was the very first."  
  
"Thanks," Ryo said, closing his eyes again. "Goodbye, digidestined. I hope you solve the troubles of this world...and soon. So much worse is coming."  
  
And Ryo Akiyama, former guardian of the Digiworld, died.  
  
"Well," Daisuke managed at last. "We'd better tell Casia and Ken."  
  
Kari followed her friends to the portal, carrying Gatomon and Chieko both. ~I don't know if we've accomplished anything,~ she thought. ~Ryo was a guardian of the Digiworld. And it isn't like we've saved them. I feel...like my friends are fading away.~  
  
And, a world away, the recovering Ken thought something similar.  
  
~Will they really do any good? I doubt it. Casia's eyes are like...fading lights. I don't know if she'll last much longer. And how much good can we do if she's gone?~  
  
~How long can my light stay without her?~  
  
Author's Notes: Wow...long chapter. I finally finished it! YES! *sighs* As for the business with Ryo...originally, Aiyarinmon was someone else entirely. However, I forgot who, so on the spur of the moment I made it Ryo. *shrugs* Makes sense to me. *rubs her hands together gleefully.* Now we move on to the threat of...well, I won't say. Mainly because I'm not sure. *sighs* This story is going to end up the longest thing I will ever write...I'm sure of it. 


End file.
